Militants loot two banks in Kashmir

Srinagar, May 3 (IANS) Armed robbers struck again in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Wednesday, looting nearly Rs 6.5 lakh at gunpoint, police said.

Gunmen believed to be militants barged into the Wahibug village branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank (Regional Rural Bank) and looted Rs 4.92 lakh.

The second robbery took place in the Nehama village branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Bank.

A police officer said the exact amount looted from the J&K Bank was not known but one report put the money at Rs 150,000.

It was the second straight day of bank robberies in the state.

On Tuesday, gunmen looted Rs 65,000 from a branch of Ellaquai Dehati Bank in Kulgam district.

On Monday, militants killed seven people, including five policemen and two bank guards, after attacking a cash van in Kulgam district.