Thaindian News

New Delhi, Jan 8 (IANS) Home Minister P. Chidambaram Friday said security forces must maintain a “high level of vigilance” considering that Jammu and Kashmir remains vulnerable to militant attacks.
The home minister’s comments come after security forces killed two guerrillas who were holed up in a hotel building following a 23-hour gun battle in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk area that ended Thursday noon.

“The incident highlights the fact that the country, especially Jammu and Kashmir, remains vulnerable to militant attacks sponsored by forces from across the border. At the same time, our capacity to neutralise a militant attack has also increased considerably,” Chidambaram said in a statement.

“I would emphasise once again that the country, especially the security forces, must maintain a high level of vigilance but there is no cause for panic. We must remain calm and confident that our security forces can face any challenge.”

Chidambaram praised the police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) for neutralising the two militants without suffering any casualties.

“They also evacuated nearly 600 civilians to safety. It is noteworthy that the J&K police and the CRPF conducted the operations without calling upon the National Security Guard (NSG) or the special forces of the army.”

In another incident, two separatist guerrillas of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were Friday killed in a gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.

The gunfight in south Kashmir’s Khrew village, about 20 km from Srinagar, began after police and counter insurgency Rashtriya Rifles (RR) troops surrounded a house on specific information.