Two Jaish militants killed in Shopian encounter
GUNFIGHT Slain JeM operatives were involved in killing of many civilians, police
SRINAGAR: Two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, involved in the killing of many civilians and police personnel, were killed in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Saturday.
Officials said a joint team of Army, police and CRPF, acting on a credible input about the presence of militants in an apple orchard in Gahand area of Shopian district, launched a cordon and search operation. As the operation was underway, militants fired on security forces resulting in an encounter in which two militants were killed, the officials added.
An Army spokesman said two bodies were retrieved from the site of the encounter and incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were seized.
A police spokesman said it was a “clean operation” and no collateral damage happened during the encounter. He said the slain militants were identified as Abid Wagay and Shahjahan Mir.
“They (militants) were involved in the abduction and subsequent killings of civilians Firdous Ahmad of Batgund, Nissar Ahmad of Kapran and policeman Balwant Singh of Batgund last year. They were also involved in the killing of woman police officer Khusboo Jan at Viel in Shopian earlier this year,” he said.
The police spokesman also blamed the two militants for killing of a civilian Tanveer Ahmad of Bemnipora at Kachdoora in Shopian.
“They were also involved in arson and setting ablaze of panchayat ghars at Kanjiullar and Ramnagar,” he added.
The spokesman said Mir was also involved in snatching of weapons and killing of four police personnel at Arhama Shopian in 2018. “He was also involved in the attack on the police station in Shopian in which a policeman Saqib Mohi-ud-Din was killed and his rifle was snatched. He was involved in the abduction and killing of a young boy Huzaif Ashraf Kuttay of Manzgam,” the spokesman said.Clashes erupted close to the encounter site soon after the gunbattle ended. Police used teargas shells and pellets to disperse the protestors. Six people were injured in the clashes.
Earlier on April 6, two militants of Hizbul Mujahedeen were killed in Sopian district after a brief encounter, also in an apple orchard.
The slain militants were both locals. One of them, Rashid Sheikh of Nuner Ganderbal, was an M Tech student and had joined Hizbul Mujahedeen three days before he was killed in the operation. The other militant was identified as Bilal of Keller.Since the Pulwama terror attack on February 14, security forces have killed 40 militants in 18 encounters across the Kashmir valley.
So far, 67 militants have been killed in various operations by security forces this year. As many as 57 personnel of security forces have also lost their lives in various encounters and militants attacks this year.