By Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR (Reuters) – Two police personnel were killed and at least 14 others injured when militants attacked their bus on Monday on the outskirts of Indian Kashmir’s main city of Srinagar, police said, hours after police shot dead two militants at a nearby checkpoint.
Kashmir police said on Twitter that militants opened fire on a police vehicle, injuring at least 16 personnel, two of whom later died. “All the injured personnel evacuated to hospital. Area cordoned off,” the police said.
A senior police official told Reuters that a “massive hunt has been launched against militants responsible for the attack”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought details on the attack and expressed condolences to the families of those killed, his office said in a tweet.
Earlier on Monday, two militants were shot dead at a check point set up on Srinagar’s outskirts after firing at police.
“Police returned the fire, killing two militants,” Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar said.
The Himalayan region is claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, but each nuclear-armed neighbour only controls parts of it.
(Reporting by Fayaz Bukhari and Devjyot Ghosal; Additional reporting by Nupur Anand; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Catherine Evans)
