Even as protests and shutdown continued in Kashmir Valley, the line of Control (loC) in north Kashmir still remained a tough challenge for the security forces as two more infiltrators were gunned down on Saturday.
Two terrorists were killed in a prolonged gunfight in Nowgam sector of Kupwara district in which two soldiers were also martyred. The encounter took place five days after four infiltrators were gunned down by the security forces in the same sector while another militant was captured alive.
Defence sources in Srinagar said the gunfight erupted late on Friday night when security forces guarding the loC traced suspicious movement in the forested area of Tutmar Gali, one of the highly active sectors in the region.
The security forces cordoned off the suspected area that resulted into heavy exchange of fire. The firing continued throughout the night resulting to death of two militants and two soldiers.
The entire area continued to be under cordon as security forces suspect presence of more militants in the area. The search operations have been aided by helicopter surveillance in the vast jungle area.
The identity of the slain militants and soldiers was not immediately known. Two AK-series rifles, one uni-barrel grenade launcher and several warlike stores have been recovered from the encounter site. A soldier has been injured in the encounter, who was later evacuated from the area.
This was the second major gunfight in the sector in past three days. On July 26, four militants of lashkar-e-Toiba were killed and another militant Bahadur Ali alias Saifullah was captured in an injured state when a gunfight triggered off in the sector. Saifullah’s interrogation has revealed that is a resident of lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Before the July 26 infiltration, a soldier was killed in the north Kashmir region when infiltrators opened fire before fleeing back to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The operation was underway in the region till last reports came in.
Meanwhile, the normal life remained crippled in Kashmir Valley on the 22nd consecutive day as protests, shutdown and clashes continued in the region. The protests broke out after the killing of 22-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. The separatist groups call shutdown to perpetuate an anti-India uprising. The security forces have shot dead 48 persons including three women during a sustained campaign to quell the protests while more than 2,000 civilians have been injured, 200 of them with pellets damaging their eyesight. Two policemen have died and more than 2,500 police and paramilitary personnel injured in attacks from the protesters. The local newspapers report that 52 civilians have been killed in the Valley so far.
A civilian riding on a bike was killed when he rammed into a wire tightly fastened with two poles to block traffic in central Kashmir’s Budgam district. The biker’s throat was slit and he died on the spot. His son, who was riding pillion, was critically injured.
Meanwhile, unknown gunmen shot dead a shopkeeper Fayaz Ahmad Rather at Saidpora village in north Kashmir’s Sopore sub-division. The militants barged into Rather’s house and fired upon him from point blank range. He died on the spot.
