Soldier succumbs, death toll rises to five in Pampore gunfight

Srinagar, Feb 21 An army soldier, wounded in the ongoing gunfight between security forces and guerrillas in Pampore in Kashmir, died in hospital on Sunday, taking the death toll in the conflict to five, a police officer said.

Earlier on Sunday, an army Captain of the elite 10 Para Regiment died after he was shot while entering the building on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway in which a group of heavily armed guerrillas are holed up.

Two paramilitary army troopers and a civilian were killed when guerrillas attacked a bus of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Saturday on the highway.

After attacking the bus, the guerrillas entered the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) complex situated close to the highway.

Around 120 civilians comprising staff and trainees of the Institute were evacuated safely on Saturday after the guerrillas entered the complex.

Two civilians were wounded on Sunday during protests in Kadlibal area of Pampore on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

Thirteen troopers of the CRPF have been injured in the gunfight which continued to rage in the area as the security forces tried to flush out the guerrillas -- believed to be three to five in number and belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terror outfit.