Three days after banned lashkar-e-Tayyeba (leT) outfit was jolted by killing of six terrorists in Hajin area of north Kashmir, three more terrorists were killed in a surgical operation in Magam Handwara area on Tuesday while a soldier died in a separate gunfight in Zirhama forests of Kupwara.
Official sources said that three leT terrorists were killed in a fierce gunfight at Magam Handwara, around 85 kilometers from here, when joint teams of police, army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched an anti-terrorist operation following specific input on the presence of terrorists in the area. The army said the slain terrorists were given chance to surrender their arms but they chose to fight the security forces.
“We laid a cordon in the morning. Since we did not want to put the people to any sort of inconvenience, we conducted this operation surgically,” Brigadier Mohit Trivedi of 8 Sector Rashtriya Rifles told reporters after the conclusion of the operation. He said the village’s former elected representative (sarpanch) was asked to find out if the militants were hiding in the house that was zeroed in on. “We came to know that terrorists were there. We told them to surrender at 8 pm but they responded by firing. We retaliated and three foreign terrorists were killed. One of our jawan was also injured and he is stable,” Trivedi said.
He said the slain terrorists were Pakistani nationals belonging to leT outfit and had recently infiltrated into this side of Kashmir. “Three weapons and other ammunition were recovered from the encounter site. The operation has been called off,” Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Munir Khan said. Meanwhile, an Army soldier was killed as security forces locked horns with militants in the forests of Zirhama in Kupwara district, around 100 kilometers from here.
The encounter began at 3 pm when first contact was established with the holed up terrorists. The exchange of fire continued in the area till last reports came in. Khan said that a soldier has been killed in the gunfight in Zirhama forests.
“The operation is going on as the terrorists, probably three in number, are hiding in forests,” he said. Meanwhile, thousands of people attended the funeral of teenage terrorist Adil Chopan, a Hizbul Mujahideen cadre, who was killed by security forces at Seer village in south Kashmir’s Tral sub-district on Monday.
A spontaneous shutdown was observed in the area even as internet services were snapped in the area.
Army’s Srinagar based XV Corps commander lt Gen JS Sandhu said that 190 terrorists have been killed in Kashmir since January during a major offensive against terrorists.