Two policemen were killed and nine of them injured when a powerful car bomb ripped through the police bus in which they were travelling, metres away from the Srinagar Central Jail. A civilian was also killed.

The bomb, an improvised explosive device (IED), went off soon after the bus dropped detainees at the jail and started for Pulwama. The bomb was placed in a car parked on the roadside. The Jamait-ul-Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attack. Speaking to a local news agency, a Jamait spokesman claimed 25 policemen had been killed in the attack.

This is first major strike by militants in the Valley since July 21, 2008, when seven soldiers were killed in an IED blast at Narbal on the Srinagar-Baramulla national highway.

Farooq Ahmad, IGP, Kashmir range, confirmed the deaths. But, he said, “We had not received any inputs about such an attack.”

Police said 13 policemen were travelling in the vehicle and the injured have been shifted to Shri Maharja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in the city. A 55-year-old woman, Khatija Begum, who was passing by was also killed on the spot. With many of the policemen critically injured, the death toll is likely to mount.

There has been a surge in militant activities in the last one month in Srinagar. On August 1, a policeman was killed, followed by the killing of two CRPF men at Lalchowk.