Border Security Force men keep a watch during an operation at Panzan village of Chadoora in Badgam district of central Kashmir on Sunday. — PTI photo

Srinagar, October 29
The 45- hour long siege of a mosque in Badgam district in central Kashmir ended on Monday with security forces killing the militant, belonging to Lashkar-e-Toiba outfit, holed up inside it, an official spokesman said. 

Three BSF personnel and a Special Police Officer (SPO) were injured in the operation which ended without any damage to the place of worship, the spokesman said. 

After shooting down the militant, BSF along with local police conducted a search of the mosque to ensure that no other militant was present there, he added. 

A party of BSF personnel went inside the mosque, but the militant who had taken shelter inside a bathroom, hurled a grenade wounding three jawans. 

The BSF party fired in retaliation and also threw a grenade killing the militant, the spokesman said. 

An AK assault rifle, four magazines and 27 rounds of ammunition were recovered. 

Earlier reports of the militant belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen or Jaish-e-Muhammad proved wrong as the documents seized from the slain ultra indicated he was a member of LeT, he said. 

The operation to clear the mosque of the militant started last evening when a joint party of the special operations group of local police and BSF moved inside. 

The militant resorted to heavy firing and lobbed grenades critically wounding a special police officer and a BSF jawan, the spokesman said. 

The operation was suspended late last night though the joint troops of BSF and local police had taken up position on the second floor of the mosque. 

Suspecting that the militant was hiding in the minar of the mosque, security forces today searched the area, he said. 

However, when the forces moved towards the bathroom adjacent to the main mosque, the militant hurled a grenade prompting them to retaliate. 

On specific information about presence of militants in Panzan village, 18 km from here, a search party of BSF, police and CRPF moved there on Saturday, he said. 

As they were engaged in house-to-house searches, militants fired upon them and one of the ultras took shelter inside the mosque while his other associates escaped, he added. — PTI