3 Lashkar militants gunned down, Army officer injured in Pulwama

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 22

Security forces achieved a major success when they killed three local Lashkar-e-Toiba militants in an overnight gunfight in south Kashmir’s volatile Pulwama district. An Army officer was also injured in the gunfight.

The killing of three militants sparked tension in Pulwama and adjoining areas and during the clashes that followed a protester was killed and nearly two dozen others were injured in the daylong clashes.

The gunfight erupted late Wednesday at Kakpora, nearly 25 km from Srinagar, when joint teams of the police, Army and the CRPF launched a cordon and search operation following inputs of the presence of militants.

“As the searches were launched around the suspected houses, militants opened fire, which was retaliated, triggering a gunfight. In the exchange that continued for five hours, three local Lashkar militants were killed and a Major was injured,” a police officer said. “Despite getting injured, the Army officer remained part of the anti-militancy operation till the end.”

The recoveries made from the site of the encounter included two rifles and a pistol. The house where the militants were hiding was razed to the ground during the gunfight.

The slain militants were identified as Majid Mir and Shakir Ahmed, both residents of Kakapora, and Irshad Ahmed of Awantipora. Mir was doing diploma in engineering at a private Srinagar college before he joined militancy last year.

“Mir was involved in at least two bank robberies in Pulwama. Mir and Shakir were involved in the killings, including that of PDP district president of Pulwama, advocate Abdul Gani Dar and a civilian, Aijaz Ahmad, of Urbugh. Mir was also involved in the killings of sarpanch Fayaz Ahmad of Kandizal and sarpanch Fayaz Ahmad of Kakapora,” said Senior Superintendent of Police, Pulwama, Mohammad Aslam.

During the anti-militancy operation last night, clashes broke out in the neighbouring villages and protesters tried to take out a march towards the encounter site. However, forces maintained a tight cordon around the village and did not allow militants to escape. After the encounter broke out, the authorities suspended the Internet services in Pulwama district late last evening.

As the news about the killing of three militants spread, massive clashes and protests broke out in the area this morning. In the daylong clashes, 22-year-old Tauseef Ahmed Wani, a resident of Tengpuna in Pulwama, was killed and many others were injured. Wani had been booked in 2010 and 2016 in stone-throwing cases under the Public Safety Act.

The police said Tauseef, alias Chota Geelani, was injured when a violent mob attacked Kakapora police post after the burial of militants. “In order to save lives and government property, the security forces used riot-control measures in which Tauseef was injured, who later succumbed,” a police spokesman said.

Pulwama district observed a shutdown after the killing of militants.

At least five militants have been killed since Wednesday morning. Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a district commander, were killed in an encounter with the police and security forces in the Pazalpora area of north Kashmir’s Sopore sub-district on Wednesday.

Ultra killed as infiltration foiled in Kupwara

Srinagar: The Army on Thursday said it had foiled an attempt by militants to sneak into the Valley by killing an unidentified militant in a firefight near the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district. Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the bid was foiled in the Keran sector. “The operation is in progress. One terrorist has been killed so far and one weapon recovered,” the spokesman said. Defence sources said the Army noticed suspicious movement close to the LoC in the Keran sector during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday and the firefight broke out when the militants were challenged. “The militants opened fire, triggering a gunfight which continued for some hours. During the searches, the body of an unidentified militant was recovered,” the sources said, adding that searches in the dense forest area were continuing as they suspected that more militants might be hiding in the area. TNS

Separatists call for protests

Srinagar: The separatists have called for protests after the Friday prayers against the killing of a civilian and injuries to over two dozen others during clashes between the protesters and security forces in south Kashmir, where three militants were killed on Thursday in an encounter. In a joint statement, Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik denounced the civilian killing by the forces, saying that the killing graph in restive Kashmir had “escalated”. TNS