Lt Fayaz killers among 12 militants shot dead in Valley
DEADLIEST DAY Mukerian jawan among three soldiers also killed, four civilians die as clashes erupt near encounter sites
AWANTIPORA: Two men allegedly involved in abducting and killing 22-year-old army officer Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz last May were among 12 militants killed in three simultaneous gun battles in south Kashmir on Sunday as the Valley saw its deadliest day so far this year, with three army soldiers and four civilians also dying during exchanges of fire.
More than 50 people suffered bullet and pellet injuries in clashes that erupted around the encounter sites, security officials said. The three security operations — at Dragad and Kachdoora in Shopian district, and at Dialgam in Anantnag district — were the biggest counterinsurgency offensive in a single day in recent years, according to officials.
All three sites are within a 50-km radius and the fire exchanges that started late on Saturday night continued well into Sunday afternoon.
Two of the three encounter sites saw clashes between civilians and security forces. Hundreds of civilians tried to march towards Dragad and Kachdoora in an attempt to help the militants escape, police said.
“In all 12 terrorists neutralised (one more being ascertained), 3 soldiers martyred and 1 terrorist caught alive. It’s unfortunate that stone pelting around encounter site cost 4 civilian deaths,” Jammu and Kashmir DGP SP Vaid tweeted.
General officer commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based 15 Corps Lt Gen AK Bhatt said this was the “biggest” security operation in a long time.
Among the militants killed at Dragad were Ishfaq Malik and Reyaz Thokar who were allegedly involved in the killing of Lt Fayaz, who was abducted from a wedding at a relative’s house and shot dead in Shopian. “We have avenged his (Fayaz’s) death,” said Lt Gen Bhatt.
Malik and Thokar were with the homegrown militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen and also Shopian residents, police said.
At Dialgam, a Hizb militant identified as Rouf Khanday was killed. There was another militant with Khanday, but he surrendered.
Police declined to release the surrendered militant’s name.
The biggest toll was at Dragad, where forces gunned down seven militants — six from the Hizbul Mujahideen and one from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
One of the three jawans killed in an encounter has been identified as Arvinder Kumar, a resident of Mukerian in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur.
Village sarpanch Usha Rani, who happens to be Arvinder’s aunt, said they got a call from the army around 5 pm informing them about the soldier’s death. Arvinder’s parents have not been told about the tragedy yet, said his uncle Ram Swaroop.
Arvinder’s younger brother is also serving in the army and currently posted in Sikkim.