Sopore -- known as the 'apple town' of Kashmir -- is fast gaining notoriety for becoming a safe haven of terrorists, especially of Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Tayiba, as it has seen a sudden spurt in violence during the last six weeks.
Intense clashes between stone-pelting youth and security forces also rocked Jamia Masjid and adjoining areas in Srinagar shortly after Friday prayers.
The authorities also sealed the Lal Chowk city centre - the commercial hub of the city - by placing barricades and concertina wires on all entry and exit points leading to the area.
Fresh clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in Kashmir, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is set to visit the Valley on Saturday.
Two days ahead of the seventh and final phase of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly poll, militants on Monday shot dead two Central Reserve Police Force soldiers and fled with their service rifles in Baramulla district. Militants sprayed bullets on constables Inderjeet Singh and S S Budhria from a point blank range in Iqbal Market near the main bus stand in Sopore town, official sources said.
In a major breakthrough, security forces on Thursday gunned down 5 hardcore militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen in a fierce gunbattle in Shopian district of south Kashmir.
Normal life remained affected in Kashmir Valley for the 98th day due to the ongoing unrest.
Umer Khalid was a A++ category top ranking terrorist and carried a cash reward of nearly Rs 7 lakh.
No one was hurt in the incidents which took place within minutes of each other.
Despite major successes against militants in Kashmir Valley so far this year, the recent rise in militant attacks in the state has put the security forces on the alert as more such strikes are expected during winter.
The first-ever district development council (DDC) elections will be held in eight phases to elect 280 members in 20 districts from November 28 to December 22.
Twenty six-year-old Abdul Hai Peer, hailing from Kashmir valley, was nabbed from Adarsh Nagar area of North Delhi.
The attack comes only a day after three people, including two militants, died in an assault on a Border Security Force camp in Sopore, north Kashmir.\n
It is estimated that around two dozen terrorists are well-entrenched within the city limits, while their movement and visibility in rural areas have become a routine.
A resident of Uttarakhand's Badena village, Singh had joined the army in 2016 and is survived by his parents.
With the operation getting fiercer by the minute, more troops have been called in.
Curfew was lifted on Tuesday across Kashmir, except from six police station areas of Srinagar, in view of the improving situation, even as normal life remained disrupted in the Valley for the 74th straight day.
The district administration has also ordered closure of all colleges and higher secondary schools in Srinagar for Monday.
Acting on specific info, army jawans raided a forest 70 km away from Srinagar and recovered the explosives.
Bullet-riddled body of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant was found in a jungle on Saturday in north Kashmir, with police suspecting the hand of break-away Hizb faction Lashkar-e-Islam.
A CRPF vehicle had suffered slight damage when a Santro car went up in flames after an explosion at Tethar village, seven km from Banihal, shortly after a Jammu-bound convoy crossed the Jawahar Tunnel, the gateway to Kashmir valley.
Hundreds others were wounded many of whom received bullet and pellet injuries and are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.
Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad during his retirement speech in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday summed up his more than four-decade-old political career in few Urdu couplets and a brief speech.
Pakistani troops opened fire with automatic weapons and Rocket Projectile Grenades.
The Valley, which was brought under a virtual curfew with communication networks snapped on August 5 after the government abrogated special status to Jammu and Kashmir, has seen little difference in the last seven weeks as public transport is still not available and schools waiting for students to collect assignments.
Groups of youth took to the streets at Press Colony and Khanyar in support of Naik.
With Lone's death, the number of people killed in the unrest in the Valley, which entered the second month on Monday, reached 55, including two police personnel.
The attackers were forced to retreat to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir without causing any damage on the Indian side
Curfew was on Sunday lifted from all parts of Kashmir but normal life in the Valley remained affected due to the strike call given by hardline Hurriyat Conference to protest against the firing incident in Ramban district that left four persons dead.
Local residents started pelting security personnel with stones, leading to clashes, they said, adding that some civilians were injured.
With three sarpanchs killed in December, many panchayat members are running scared and quitting their posts. Pervez Majeed reports.
Article 370 'was not a special status. It was a special discrimination. With its abrogation we have brought Kashmiris on par with Indians', he said.
Officials said the government has made necessary arrangements for opening of 190 primary schools in Srinagar city as security forces remained deployed in most of the Valley.
Normal life remained paralysed for the 37th consecutive day due to curfew, restrictions and separatist sponsored strike.
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