Doctor, 6 labourers killed after militants struck construction site in Ganderbal

SRINAGAR: A doctor and six labourers were killed when militants struck a tunnel-construction site on the Srinagar-Leh national highway in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Sunday, officials said.

The unidentified militants carried out the attack when the labourers and other staff working on the tunnel project at Gund in Ganderbal had returned to their camp late in the evening, the officials said.

They said the militants — believed to be at least two — opened indiscriminate fire on the group of labourers that included both locals and non-locals.

While two labourers died on the spot, four others and the doctor succumbed to their injuries subsequently, the officials said, adding that five people are undergoing treatment for injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Dr Shahnawaz, Faheem Nazir, Kaleem, Mohammad Hanif, Shashi Abrol, Anil Shukla and Gurmeet Singh.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track down the attackers, the officials said.

Top security officials, including Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, V K Birdi, have reached the spot to assess the situation. (PTI)