Four policemen were killed in a blast in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, on Saturday. The explosion, caused by an improvised explosive device (IED), targeted a police patrol in a market. The remote-controlled IED was planted near a shop between 'Chotta Bazaar' and 'Bada Bazaar' and detonated when the police arrived during their routine rounds. The blast also destroyed three shops.
The terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening more such strikes. The policemen were on duty due to a strike called by separatists over the 1993 massacre in which 57 people were killed.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed their condolences. The attack follows a recent Jaish-e-Mohammad assault on a CRPF training center in Pulwama, which left five security personnel dead.