Union minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday called the killing of six police personnel in Jammu and Kashmir a “act of cowardice”, PTI reported. The policemen had been attacked in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Reports said their bodies had been disfigured by the militants.

Director General of Police SP Vaid said it was a revenge attack by the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The attack came hours after LeT commander Junaid Mattoo was killed on Friday. “This unfortunate incident has been committed by the LeT group led by Bashir Lashkari and we will track him down and see that justice is done,” Vaid said, according to PTI.

Shutdown in parts of the state

Parts of the state were closed on Saturday, after the killings on Friday. Srinagar District Magistrate Farooq Ahmad Lone said Rainawari, Khanyar, Nowhatta, MR Gunj and Safa Kadal were closed to maintain law and order, Greater Kashmir reported. Shops and educational institutions were closed, and public transport was not running in these places. Large contingents of security were also deployed in the region.

Two civilians killed

Meanwhile, two civilians were killed after they joined protests during a search operation in south Kashmir’s Arwani village, The Indian Express reported. The victims were identified as Fayaz Ahmed and Muzaffar Jan from Qazipora.