7 civilians, soldier and 3 militants killed in Valley gunfight, clashes
srinagar — It was a blood-soaked Saturday in Kashmir in which 11 persons, including seven civilians, an army soldier and three militants, were killed and over three dozen civilian protesters sustained injuries in clashes with the security forces.
The 11 deaths took place in a gunfight and subsequent clashes in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, in one of the bloodiest days in the Valley’s recent history.
The gunfight erupted in Sirnoo village as security personnel surrounded the area after receiving a tip-off that militants were holed up there. Three militants and a soldier were killed in the gunfight, the police said. One of the three slain militants, Zahoor Ahmad Thokar, had deserted the army to join the militant ranks.
Immediately after the gunfight, scores of civilian protesters clashed with the security forces who used firearms and pellets to
control the agitating mob.
Two youths identified as Amir Ahmad and Abid Hussain were declared brought dead in a district hospital where they were taken for treatment of gunshot injuries.
Five other civilian protesters — Suhail Ahmad, Shahbaaz, Liyaqat Dar, Tauseef Ahmad and Murtaza Bashir — succumbed to their wounds later, authorities said.
Reports coming from the area
said that more than 35 protesters were injured in the clashes and three of them were critical after receiving gunshot wounds.
Spontaneous protests broke out immediately after the news about the civilian killings spread in the Valley. Protesters clashed with the security forces in north Kashmir’s Sopore town where the security forces used teargas to disperse the protesters. —