A policeman and a civilian were killed and at least 10 others injured when guerrillas stormed a police station in Jammu and Kashmir early Friday, triggering a gun battle with security forces.
The attackers first killed the police guard at the Rajbagh police station in Kathua district, about 65 km from here, and then opened fire, killing the civilian and wounding the others, police said.
Inspector General of Police Danish Rana told reporters said there were three to four militants who fired from automatic weapons and hurled grenades.
Seventeen security personnel were quickly evacuated from the building where, officials said, the attackers were holed up. "The building has been surrounded," Rana said.
"There are some more security men inside the building. The operation against the militants will start after they are safely evacuated," added the officer.
Reinforcements from the army, paramilitary forces and police rushed to the spot in a bid to prevent the guerrillas from escaping.
More From This Section
The Rajbagh police station is located on the strategic Jammu-Pathankot highway and just 15 km from the Pakistan border.
Traffic on the highway was stopped after the attack.
"It is likely that the attackers crossed the Pakistan border recently," an intelligence officer told IANS.
Twelve people were killed on September 26, 2013 when guerrillas had attacked the Hiranagar police station in Kathua district and later entered an army camp on the Jammu-Pathankot highway.