A civilian succumbed to injuries sustained in a suspected militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday. Two soldiers were also injured after a patrol party of the Indian Army was targeted. An unnamed official told Greater Kashmir that the militants opened fire on security personnel in the district’s Baskuchan village. The deceased was identified as Nazir Sheikh, a local driver who was transporting the Army officers, ANI reported.

Officials said bulletproof gear minimised the injuries sustained by the students, NDTV reported.

The strike came hours after the Army, along with other security forces, cordoned off at least a dozen villages in Shopian as part of a massive anti-terror operation. The search operations were started after suspected militants barged into a police post guarding the court complex of the southern district late on Tuesday night and made off with five service rifles. Five police personnel were suspended.

“It is clear that militant organisations are short of cash. We have also seen that they now carry more advanced technological gadgets. We are continuing the investigation,” a senior police officer said.