A 'fidayeen' squad of militants in army fatigues stormed a police station in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district, killing three security personnel and leaving 11 others, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, injured.
Two militants, who were members of a fidayeen squad, were also killed in the subsequent encounter with security forces that ended around noon. This is the first major militant attack in the state since the formation of the PDP-BJP coalition government in the state on March 1.
Police officers said a group of two militants of a 'fidayeen' squad stormed Rajbagh Police Station in the wee hours and opened indiscriminate fire.
"It is a fidayeen attack," IGP Jammu Danish Rana said.
"Two militants have been killed. Operation has ended. Besides two CRPF men, a policeman also died in the encounter", Rana told reporters in Kathua.
Earlier, police had said that a total of six persons, including two militants, were killed in the attack.
An injured CRPF constable Bharat Prabhu said militants wearing army uniforms intercepted a jeep going from Jammu to Pathankot on the pretext of checking the vehicle.
The ultras then hijacked the jeep which had three passengers on board and fled towards the Rajbagh Police Station where they opened fire on a sentry and killed him.The militants fired UBGL grenades at the police station and opened indiscriminate fire.
"We had gunned down one terrorist before we were injured", the CRPF jawan said.
The police station looked like a battle ground with bullet holes on the wall. The attack triggered panic among people living close to the police station.
"As the firing started at the police station, we closed our windows and kept our family on the ground flood. We spent several hours in fear", Sham Lal, who lives close to the police station, said.