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Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar
Militants gunned down a top counter-insurgent turned Congress politician along with his police bodyguard at Village Chandoosa in the northern Baramulla district of Jammu & Kashmir on Friday.
A school headmaster was also injured in the shooting.
Sources said the militants shot at and killed Sareer Khan when he was returning with his bodyguard after offering Friday noon prayers at the village mosque. The bodyguard, identified as Showkat Ahmad, also died on the spot.
Mohammad Saleen Beg, headmaster of the local school, who also received serious bullet injuries, was shifted to hospital in Baramulla town.
Senior paramilitary officers rushed to the village with reinforcements and searched the place. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the murder.
Following threats to his life, the government had given Khan protection. The Central Reserve Police Force guards his house at Chandoosa.
Khan had staged a big rally at his village for senior Congress politicians during the assembly election in Jammu & Kashmir in 1996. He was, however, defeated in the election.
He was also actively involved in counter-insurgency operations in north Kashmir after his surrender to the security forces.
Militants also hurled a grenade at a security force vehicle at Noorbagh in Baramulla district, resulting in injuries to seven civilians. Two of them are stated to be in a critical condition.
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