3 militants killed, Army major hurt in Baramulla firefight
2 policemen also injured
Srinagar: Three militants were killed and an Army major and two policemen injured in a daylong fire fight in Pattan area of J& K’s north- western Baramulla district on Friday. Later during the day, fighting broke out between a group of militants and security forces also in Babhoora village of southern Pulwama district when the later launched a cordon- and- search operation on receiving “specific information about the presence of terrorists.”
◗ A RUMOUR spread that the Army officer has succumbed to his injuries at Srinagar’s 92- Base Hospital. However, the defence spokesman was quick to deny it.
Three militants were killed and an Army Major and two policemen injured in a daylong fire fight in Pattan area of Jammu and Kashmir’s northwestern Baramulla district on Friday.
Later during the day, fighting broke out between a group of militants and security forces also in Babhoora village of southern Pulwama district when the later launched a cordon- andsearch operation on receiving “specific information about the presence of terrorists.”
Defence spokesman, Colonel Rajesh Kalia, said that the security forces from Army’s 29 Rashtriya Rifles, J& K police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group ( SOG) and various battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force ( CRPF) took on a group of militants holed up inside a private house after they laid siege to Yadipora village of Pattan and the gunmen opened fire at them when they zeroed in on their hideout.
“Three terrorists were eliminated in the ensuing encounter. The joint operation is in progress,” he said. The police sources added that an Army officer Major Rohit Mehra and two Special Police Officers ( SPOs) were injured during the clash. The sources added that as the security forces encircled the house where militants had been trapped, the J& K police with the help of the Army and the CRPF evacuated civilians to safer locations to avoid collateral damage.
A rumour spread that the Army officer has succumbed to his injuries at Srinagar’s 92- Base Hospital. However, the defence spokesman was quick to deny it and say his condition was “stable”. The police said that the Army officer and two SPOs were injured in militants’ indiscriminate firing while they were busy with others in rescuing civilians.