Army jawan, two militants killed in encounter in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 17

An Army jawan and two militants were killed in an ongoing gunfight in a village in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, officials said.

The encounter started when security forces launched a joint operation in Posta-Potra village in Gundana area, 26 km from Doda town, following information about presence of some militants, the officials said.

An Army jawan was critically injured in the initial firing from the holed up militants and later succumbed to injuries while being evacuated to hospital, they said.

Security forces blew up a three-storey house, where the militants were believed to be trapped. The forces later found the bodies of two militants from under the rubble of the house.

A search operation is still under way at the site.

A Hizbul Mujahideen militant killed in the encounter was identified as Tahir, alias Uqaab, a resident of Pulwama district. The identity of the second militant is yet to be ascertained.

Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh, said one of the hiding terrorists was killed in the ongoing operation.

“The operation is on and further details are awaited,” Singh said.

The officials said joint teams of Army’s Rashtriya Rifles, police and CRPF were launched on Saturday night after inputs were received about presence of two suspected terrorists in the village.

As the search parties were moving towards the target area, they came under heavy fire around 7.30 am, which was retaliated, the officials said, adding the terrorists took shelter in a house after a brief encounter in the open.

This is the second encounter between security forces and terrorists in Doda district this year. Earlier, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Haroon Abbas was killed in the same area by security forces on January 15.

Earlier this month, two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were arrested along with some arms and ammunition in the district.

Doda along with nearby Kishtwar district has witnessed increased terrorist activity lately. These Chenab valley districts were declared terrorism-free over a decade ago. With PTI

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