Four Pak militants killed, one arrested in Kupwara

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 26

Four Pakistani militants were killed and another was apprehended in a gunfight close to the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday.

The gunfight erupted late last night when the Army zeroed in on a group of militants whom they were tracking down for the last four days in the Nowgam sector, 120 km northwest of Srinagar.

“Finally, the Army was able to encircle the militants in a forest area late Monday some 15-17 km inside the LoC and when they were challenged, they opened fire. In the gunfight, four Pakistani militants were killed and a Pakistani militant who had come to receive them was arrested,” a defence source said, adding that three AK rifles, two pistols and other war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site.

The arrested militant, sources said, had infiltrated last month and was injured in a gunfight in the sector last month, but had managed to escape.

“The arrested Pakistani militant has been identified as Bahador Ali, alias Saifiullah, of Lahore,” a defence official said. He is the fourth Pakistani militant to be arrested this year in Kashmir. 

The four slain militants were associated with the Lashkar-e-Toiba, the defence official added. This is the second gunfight in Nowgam is the last three weeks. On the intervening night of July 8-9, two militants were killed in a gunfight in the Nowgam sector. The two Pakistani militants, associated with the Albader militant group, were killed when they fired at an Army picket close to the Line of Control. 

There has been a spurt in infiltration this year. Official figures reveal that 54 militants have infiltrated into Kashmir till June this year. Last year, 35 militants had infiltrated into the Valley. 

The Army has expressed concern over the infiltration due to the current unrest in the Valley. Army Chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag, who had visited Kashmir last week amid the unrest following the killing of Burhan Wani, had asked soldiers to be on the alert as Pakistan could push in more militants due to the current situation in the Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.