Tral attack: Minister Naeem Akhtar targeted, at least two killed
Two people were killed and about 30 injured when terrorists opened fire at a minister's convoy near a bus stand in J&K's Pulwama. According to reports, Naeem Akhtar was on his way to inaugurate a project in Tral when terrorists lobbed grenades at his car. At least seven CRPF personnel were injured. Meanwhile, Akhtar has been moved to a safer location, police said.
Condem this militant attack. Glad Naeem Akhtar Sb is safe & well. My sympathies to families of the deceased & prayers for the injured. https://t.co/RMtoPax1Sh
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) September 21, 2017
According to reports, victims included a woman and a college student. "I am profoundly shocked that they chose to target us when we were trying to speed up development of Tral constituency," Road and Bridge Minister Akhtar said. He called it an attempt to "subvert our outreach program and our program to take governance to the people". After launching the grenades, the terrorists escaped.
Meanwhile, while condemning the attack, Hizbul Mujahideen called it a "brainchild of Indian agencies who want to defame the Kashmir freedom movement". "The attack was aimed to create a wedge between militants and the local population," spokesperson Burhanuddin said.
