Gunmen kill policeman in Indian-controlled Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a policeman in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said on Monday.

The policeman was attacked Sunday night at his residence in Hiller Shahabad village of Anantnag district, about 60 km south of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"Last night militants barged inside the house of a policeman at Hiller and fired upon him from a point-blank range. Though he was immediately rushed to the hospital, he succumbed there," a police official posted in Anantnag said.

Reports said the gunmen escaped from the spot following the attack.

Government forces cordoned off the area to launch massive searches for the assailants.

The police blamed militants for the attack, while no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the killing.

Militants attacked a patrol party of India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in region's Sopore area on Saturday, killing three personnel and wounding two others.

The attacks come at a time when the entire Indian-controlled Kashmir is under lockdown in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.

A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troopers stationed in the region since 1989. However, of late Indian policemen too have been trained to fight them.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.