Militants Trap 100 People in Building, One Dead in Indian Kashmir Attack

Unidentified gunmen attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and trapped 100 students and employees of Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) in the town of Pampore, according to local media.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) – At least one person has been killed in a terrorist attack on a military convoy near an educational facility in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, while 100 students and employees remain trapped inside the building, Indian media reported Saturday.

Unidentified gunmen attacked a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy earlier in the day before retreating to the nearby Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) in the town of Pampore, 10 miles southeast of Srinagar.

"There are nearly 100 people trapped inside the three multi-storied buildings in the campus," a trapped JKEDI employee told the regional publication The Tribune.

At least 11 CRPF personnel are said to have been injured, one of whom later died.

The employee told the outlet that a gun battle was still underway and one of the gunmen had asked the hostages to "vacate" the building.

The Jammu and Kashmir region has been claimed by both India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Following several armed conflicts, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in 2003. Since then, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce.