Cop injured, Jaish ultra killed in Tral encounter

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, November 9

An unidentified militant of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), suspected to be a Pakistani national, was killed on Friday in a daylong gunfight with security forces in the Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, some 60 km from Srinagar.

A policeman was also injured in the encounter. He was evacuated to hospital with splinter injuries and is stated to be stable.

Awantipora SSP Zahid Malik confirmed that the gunfight was over and the body of the militant, along with a weapon, had been retrieved.

“Efforts are being made to ascertain the identity of the militant. He seems to be a Pakistani national,” Malik said. The gunfight erupted in the Daar-Ganaigund area of Tral on Friday about 9:30 am, soon after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the area.

“There were inputs regarding the presence of militants in the area, following which the operation was launched jointly,” said a senior police officer from Tral.

He said the militant was holed up in a residential house and opened indiscriminate fire soon after he realised he was trapped.

“He managed to sneak out of the house and took position behind a stone wall. His point of certain advantage took us this long to eliminate him,” the police officer said.

Intense clashes, meanwhile, erupted around the site of the encounter and in Tral town, and continued throughout the day. No one was injured in the clashes.

Internet services were also suspended in Awantipora police district and were yet to be restored while this report was being filed.