Three IS terrorists hiding in house shot dead in J&K

Three militants believed to be the cadres of Jammu and Kashmir chapter of the Islamic State (ISJK) were killed in a gunfight with security forces here on Sunday.

Police officials said that one of the slain militants was involved in the sneak attack carried out by motorbike-borne gunmen in Ahmed Nagar, Pandach area on the peripheries of Srinagar on May 20, leaving two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans Rana Mandal and Zia ul-Haq dead.

They said that the rifle snatched from one of the slain BSF men was recovered from the encounter site on Sunday.

The house in Pozwalpora locality of Srinagar’s Zonimar area in which the militant trio was holed up was damaged in the security forces’ final assault.

Before the combat started early on Sunday, the police officials made an appeal to the militants to lay down their arms through public address system. When they ignored it, the owner of the house was asked to make one last attempt to persuade the militants to surrender.

In a video clip, the man (name withheld) can be heard pleading before the militants trapped in his house, “Please, have mercy on me and my family. I’ve a large family to look after. My daughter’s wedding is scheduled for next month. My brothers, for God’s sake...have mercy on me and my family. Please, surrender. I had told you last night (about possibility of the security forces tracking them down) but you didn’t listen to me. They (security forces) conceded my request to give you one more opportunity to surrender. If you don’t do that they will torch my home. I have no money to rebuild it. Please, come out and surrender to save my home.”

Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range), Vijay Kumar, said that repeated attempts were made to persuade the militants to surrender, but they rejected the offer.