SPO shot dead in J&K, another injured

Srinagar, March 31 (IANS) Militants shot and killed a special police officer (SPO) in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday evening after critically injuring an SPO in Anantnag district earlier in the day, police said.

Police said militants fired from close range at SPO Muhammad Ashraf in Muran Chowk, injuring him critically.

"He was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to critical injuries," police said.

Earlier on Saturday, militants had fired at another SPO, Trilok Singh in Khanabal area of Anantnag.

Singh was shifted to hospital for treatment while the security forces laid a cordon at both places to trace the militants.

Another SPO had been shot dead by militants in Anantnag district on Thursday.

According to a police officer, a group of militants entered the house of Mushtaq Ahmed Sheikh in Bijbehara area of Anantnag in the evening and opened fire at him. While Sheikh was killed on the spot, his wife was critically injured.

Engaged on a fixed monthly wage, SPOs are not regular policemen, but were recruited in the 1990s to fight insurgency.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)