A Pakistani and two local militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kangan village of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday. An army personnel was injured in the gunfight.
Police said the Pakistani militant was an IED expert and had participated in the Afghan war, identifying him as Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai.
Two local militants, a police official said, have been identified by their families as Zahid Manzoor Wani of Karimabad Pulwama and Manzoor Ahmad Kar of Siyun Shopian.
An official said police buried the bodies of the three militants in north Kashmir’s Baramula.
A police official said that in the wee hours a joint team of army’s 55 RR, police and the CRPF laid a siege in Kangan village on the basis of specific lead about the presence of militants.
“As the forces zeroed in towards the house where the militants had taken shelter, they were fired upon. The fire was retaliated, triggering a fierce gun-battle,” he said.
The guns blazed heavily on both sides for several hours.
An army man sustained injury and was evacuated to the Srinagar base hospital.
The gunfight finally concluded with the killing of all three militants and their bodies were retrieved.
“Arms and ammunition were also recovered from the gunfight spot,” Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said.
The authorities have snapped 2G mobile internet services in Pulwama district.
This is the second gunfight in south Kashmir in the past 24 hours. Two local militants were killed in an encounter in Tral area yesterday.
They were identified late in the evening as Muhammad Maqbool Chopan of Seer Tral, a recent recruit, and Aaqib Ahmad of Braw Bandina village of Awantipora.
The duo was buried by police at Sonamarg in north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district as police are lately denying the bodies of the militants to their families as the funeral attracted huge number of people.
Chopan, according to his family, is survived by four kids, including three daughters.
Aqib’s brother, also a militant, according to his family was killed in an encounter with security forces in 2008.