Srinagar : The militants who carried out the deadly attack on army convoy, that killed 8 soldiers and wounded 19 others, had snatched a motorcycle from two students to carry out the strike.The pheran-clad militants took the motorcycle from two students at Bagat locality as they were going for tuition, and rode towards Hyderpora locality where they ambushed the Army convoy, sources said.

The two militants flagged the army vehicle near a private hospital on Srinagar-Baramulla highway. The jawans stopped the vehicle thinking the two men may be in need of some help, they said.

As the vehicle stopped, the two men took out their assault rifles from under the pheran (a loose gown worn by Kashmiris during winter) and fired indiscriminately from the front and rear side of the vehicle, causing maximum impact, they said.

The ultras then fled from the scene on the bike, using an internal link road to reach Barzulla where a car was waiting for them to escape, the sources said.

However, the militants came across a joint party of police and CRPF at Barzulla, where a check-point was already in place in view of the security for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit today .

The militants then lobbed a grenade at the security personnel and opened firing, which resulted in injuries to a CRPF officer and a Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel.

Taking advantage of the panic caused by the explosion and firing, the militants boarded a waiting car to escape.