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10 killed, 14 injured in blast near Raghunath temple in Jammu

At least ten persons, including four security personnel and two militants, were killed on Saturday morning when militants hurled grenades and sprayed bullets on security personnel and bystanders in the busy Raghunath chowk in the heart of the winter capital Jammu.

Police said 15 persons who received serious injuries were hospitalised.

While one of them succumbed, the condition of five is serious, a senior police officer said, adding the death toll could be higher.

Raghunath chowk on Residency Road is generally crowded with people visiting the famous Raghunath temple or the market nearby.

He said the militants arrived in the market outside the temple in a vehicle and immediately hurled a grenade. They following it with random firing, he added.

Three paramilitary forces personnel and a cop died on the spot, he said.

The security personnel guarding the temple retaliated immediately killing one of the militants while another was killed in the exchange of fire that followed, he said.

Security forces are combing the area, the police officer said.

Sources said that three civilians, including a woman, also died on the spot in the firing.

Senior security officials have rushed to the spot with reinforcements and encircled the area.

Jammu was tense following the incident with shopkeepers downing their shutters, sources said. Authorities fear that the attack may trigger communal tension in the city.

A general alert has been sounded in the Jammu region and security forces have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain law and order.

Meanwhile, two soldiers were killed and two injured on Friday night when security force personnel were ambushed by militants near Khwaja Sahib in Baramulla district.

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