A group of lashkar-e-Tayyeba (leT) terrorists in Kulgam on Sunday offered gun salute to a terrorist who was killed in an abortive attempt to snatch a rifle from a policeman during a shootout on Saturday night in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. Three civilians, a policeman and a terrorist died in the shootout.
Sources said hundreds of people joined the funeral procession of the slain terrorist amid chanting of pro-freedom and anti-India slogans. At least four terrorists appeared amid the crowd and fired gunshots in the air from their AK-assault rifles to offer salute to their slain cadre, said sources adding, “The terrorists raised some slogans and then fled.”
The incident came just a couple of days after the security forces carried out a major combing operation in the neighbouring Shopian district to flush out terrorists.
On Saturday night, terrorists attacked a police party near Mirbazar in Anantnag resulting into killing of four people and injury to three others. Police said the attack took place after a police party was clearing road near Malpora fallowing an accident in which a driver was killed.
“As the traffic was being cleared, terrorists fired indiscriminately,” a police official said. “The attack was retaliated by the police party.” Police said a hand grenade and live ammunition were recovered from the pocket of slain terrorist identified as Fayaz Ahmed Ashwar, alias Setha, a resident of Reshipora Qaimoh in south Kashmir’s Kulgam.
Fayaz, a truck driver, who had reportedly joined terrorism, had been on the run since August 2015 after his name cropped up in the Udhampur terror strike case.
Sources said he was killed when he attempted to snatch an AK-47 rifle from a cop after attack. Fayaz was one of the main accused in August 5, 2015, attack on a BSF convoy in Udhampur. The attack resulted in the death of two BSF jawans while 13 others were injured. The case was subsequently transferred to NIA for investigation.
Fayaz carried a cash reward of Rs2 lakh on his head and had been chargesheeted by the NIA in the case.