Jammu & Kashmir policemen soft targets for terrorists, ASI Ahmed 11th cop to die since January

J&K, 13/7: They can be easily spotted in a bustling marketplace buying vegetables or dropping their children to school. The everyday ordinariness of their lives has rendered the Jammu and Kashmir police personnel “soft targets”, as they fight a seemingly endless battle against militancy in the valley.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Mushtaq Ahmad Tuesday became the 49th victim of terrorist violence in the past over six months in Jammu and Kashmir, where militant attacks on soft targets have shown an upward trend despite successful counter-insurgency operations by the security forces.

Ahmad (56) was killed and his two subordinates – constables Fayaz Ahmad and Abu Bakar – were injured when terrorists opened fire on their patrol at Lal Bazar on the outskirts of Srinagar.