SOLDIER KILLED IN ENCOUNTER WITH MILITANTS IN VALLEY

SRINAGAR :A soldier was killed in a shootout with militants during a cordon-and-search operation at Rafiabad in north Kashmir on Friday morning. A hunt has been launched for the militants, who managed to escape in the confusion.

Officials said militants opened fire at the Army’s 32 Rashtriya Rifles battalion while they were conducting a cordon-and-search operation at Kachlu village on Friday morning. Rifleman Ram Babu Shahi (24), who was injured in the shootout, died in a nearby hospital soon after being shifted there.

“The soldier was killed during an operation in Rafiabad’s Kachlu village,” an Army spokesperson confirmed.

Shahi was a resident of Chitwan in Nepal. He is survived by his wife and daughter.

Another shootout erupted between militants and Army personnel during a similar operation in nearby Hajin town in the wee hours of Friday. This mission turned out to be unsuccessful too, with the militants managing to escape.

WOMAN FATALLY SHOT

In the third killing of a civilian in the past nine days, a woman was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday, the police said. A grenade was also lobbed towards the office of district police officer (DPO) in Awantipora, killing a man and injuring three others.

Police said Shameema, 47, was fired upon near her parents house at Drabgham village. “She died on the spot,” an officer of Rajpora police station said. “We are investigating the cause of the attack,” he said. In a series of tweets, Kashmir police said, “Proscribed terror outfit HM (Hizbul Mujahideen) behind the killing of a lady at Darbgham #Pulwama. Grenade incident by terrorists at #Awantipora has led to one critical injury to a civilian .@JmuKmrPolice (sic).”