The 36-hour-long gun-battle across the line of Control (loC) in north Kashmir’s Nowgam sector of Kupwara district culminated into the death of three soldiers of the Indian Army and four infiltrators, believed to have sneaked into the Valley hours before they were intercepted.
A Defence spokesman said one soldier and two terrorists were killed on Sunday taking the death toll to 7. Two soldiers and an equal number of terrorists were killed in the first exchange of fire in the sector on Saturday when the group was intercepted. The operation had been halted during the night but the cordon continued in a vast stretch of forested area.
The spokesman said that four assault rifles and warlike stores were recovered from the possession of slain terrorists. The allegiance of terrorists was not ascertained.
The encounter took place close on the heels of Defence Minister Arun Jaitley’s visit to forward areas to oversee the preparedness of troops to combat fresh attempts of infiltration from across the border.
The Defence Minister was in the Valley in connection with two-day Goods and Services Tax Council meeting in his capacity as Union Finance Minister. However, he also reviewed the security situation with top Army commanders.
Jaitley issued stern warning to Pakistan and terrorist, and praised the grit and resilience of the soldiers deployed on the loC.
The latest casualties took place as the Army foiled infiltration bid after intercepting a group of terrorists close to the loC in Nowgam sector, 120 kilometres from Srinagar.
The spokesman said that the search operation would continue for some more time in the area. Sources said that the slain terrorists had recently infiltrated.
Meanwhile, Kashmir valley observed shutdown on death anniversaries of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Gani lone, two separatist leaders who were killed by suspected terrorists on the same day in 1990 and 2022 respectively. Dozens of mourners were killed by indiscriminate firing at the funeral procession of Mirwaiz Farooq at Hawal in old Srinagar turning it one of the bloodiest days in the Kashmir’s recent history.
The shutdown was called by Hurriyat Conference that conducted a weeklong programme, haftai shadat (week of martyrdom) in memory of the two slain leaders. lone’s elder son Bilal Ghani pursues separatist politics along-with Mirwaiz Umar Farooq while his younger son Sajad lone is a Minister in Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP alliance.
The authorities had imposed restrictions in the police jurisdictions of Nowhatta, MR Gunj, Khanyar, Rainawari and Safa Kadal to prevent the rally of the Hurriyat scheduled at Eidgah.
Shops, other business establishments remained closed in major towns of the Valley. The movement of traffic was thin as less public and private transport moved on the roads.
Heavy deployment of police and paramilitary was seen on downtown and other areas to thwart the rally and protests. Meanwhile, 13 youths have been picked up by police in Pulwama district during night raids in different places.