india

Updated: Jun 18, 2019 20:27 IST

Ten civilians were injured on Tuesday when militants hurled a grenade at a police station in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The grenade, however, missed its target and exploded on busy road outside the police compound. News agency IANS said three of the injured civilians are in a critical condition and have been shifted to a hospital in state capital Srinagar.

The grenade attack was carried out hours after an encounter nearly 40 km away in Anantnag’s Marahom village led to the elimination of two Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives identified as Sajjad Bhat and his handler, Tawseef Ahmad Bhat.

Sajjad Bhat was involved in February’s deadly suicide bombing that targeted a CRPF convoy in Pulwama. It was his Maruti Eeco that was loaded with 25 kg of RDX that killed 40 CRPF soldiers in this attack that soared tensions with Pakistan. India conducted air strikes on a Jaish camp at Balakot and later engaged in an aerial dogfight with Pakistani fighters along the Line of Control as they attempted to bomb Indian targets.

After the Pulwama strike, the army and other forces had tightened security across the Kashmir valley, especially in the militant hotbed of south Kashmir. Security officials said more than 110 militants have already been killed in police encounters including some top commanders of militant outfits.

Last evening, around a dozen soldiers were also injured when an explosive was triggered near an army patrol in Pulwama.