After India carried out surgical strikes across the LoC in PoK two weeks ago, Intelligence agencies in Kashmir had warned of a major terror strike either on an Army installations in Srinagar or convoys moving towards Jammu on the National Highway 1A. And that attack did happen on Monday morning inside the Entrepreneurship Development Institute in Pampore.
As per the reports from the intelligence agencies, the suspected militants who are reportedly holed up inside Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) have been trying to infiltrate into Srinagar city from last many days.
The operation started early morning on Monday
On Monday morning, at around 6 am, one the employee of the EDI, a skill-training institute, saw smoke emanating from a building in campus. Although the fire has stopped but combing operation have been intensified on the entire stretch along the National Highway 1 A and in adjoining areas.
Militants had earlier taken positions inside a whitewashed building, among the three such buildings inside the campus. And after gunshots were heard inside, the complex security forces rushed towards the area to flush out the militants.
“We knew two people have been trying to enter Srinagar from Pulwama area and were recently spotted near Sanant Nagar locality but returned after they found Kashmir police checking vehicles near the national Highway,” an intelligence officer told a news agency.
“Two to three militants are believed to be trapped inside either in the last building facing Jhelum or in the back yard of the EDI,” the intelligence official added.
Security forces have surrounded the entire area surrounding the building to prevent militants from escaping from the area.
It is not clear whether the militants entered the building from the main gate or the backside but intelligence officials said that the militants, to reach the institute, could have used boats across the river Jhelum to reach the institute, which would have been largely gone unnoticed.
This is the second attack in nine months which has happened at the same location. Earlier this year in February an encounter that last more than forty eight hours left three militants dead holed up in the front building of the EDI. The operation was launched after militants attacked a CRPF convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and took refuge in the multi-storey EDI complex.
