SRINAGAR, Aug 26: An Indian soldier was shot dead and a policeman seriously wounded in separate attacks by separatists here on Tuesday, police said, a day before a visit by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

“A BSF (Border Security Force) personnel was killed when militants fired at a security patrol in Lal Chowk,” a police spokesman said. A policeman was wounded in a separate attack when militants fired at a patrol in the city’s Soura area, the spokesman said.

Jaish-i-Mohammad called newspaper offices and claimed responsibility for the attacks.—Reuters