3 militants killed in Baramulla gunfight, combing operation on

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 24

Three unidentfied militants were killed in a gunfight close to the Line to Control in Baramulla district of north Kashmir, Army said, adding that a combing operation is under way.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The gunfight broke in Kalgai Uri, over 110 km from Srinagar, when the Army noticed movement of militants during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

"An operation was immediately launched and a gunfight broke subsequently when militants believed to be three in number opened fire," defence sources said. 

The operation was carried out en route from border town of Uri to Kaman. There was a possibility that the militants may have infiltrated only last night.

Army said three militants have been killed and a combing operation is under way. The identity of the slain militants is yet to be ascertained.

Two civilians and a soldier have also been wounded.

Jammu and Kashmir Police chief Shesh Paul Vaid said the militants trapped in Uri were planning a fidayeen attack on the lines of last year that had left 19 soldiers dead.

Last year, on September 18, an Army base in the Uri responsible for guarding the LoC came under attack, when a group of four fidayeen of the Lashkar-e-Toiba stormed it. At least 19 soldiers were killed in the attack.  This was followed by the Army launching surgical strikes on militant launch pads in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).