Militants make failed weapon snatching bid

SOG camp attached, 3 injured

SRINAGAR: Two unknown men today made a failed bid to snatch a rifle of a bank ATM guard in Shopian district of south Kashmir, police said.
The alert guard thwarted the attempt by holding on to his 12-bore rifle even after the attackers threw chili powder in his eyes, a police official said.
The incident occurred at the Jammu and Kashmir Bank's ATM at Imam Sahib in Shopian district this afternoon, the official said. As the guard resisted the attempt, there was commotion which drew the attention of passers by, forcing the assailants to flee from the spot, the official added.
Over the last several months, there have been a number of incidents of gun-snatching, mainly in south Kashmir.
Meanwhile, three persons were injured when militants hurled a hand grenade towards a camp of Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police in south Kashmir district of Shopian this evening.
Official sources said militants hurled a hand grenade towards SOG camp at Imam Sahib Shopian. However, the grenade missed the intended target and exploded outside the camp resulting in injuries to three persons.
Immediately after the attack security forces launched a massive search operation against the militants responsible for the attack, which came hours after a guard of Jammu and Kashmir Bank guard foiled an attempt by unidentified persons to snatch his weapon in the same area.