SRI NAGAR: At least six militants, including three Pakistanis, were killed in three separate encounters with security forces in Kashmir on Friday. A minor boy held hostage by the militants was killed during a gunfight in Hajin, Bandipora. A police officer said security forces surrounded a house in Hajin on Thursday after inputs about the presence of militants. “The forces rescued six civilians but a 12-year-old boy Atif Ahmad and his uncle Abdul Hamid remained with the militants,” he said.
The official said security forces, with the assistance of locals, rescued Hameed. Later, the family members, locals and Masjid committee members appealed to the militants to release the boy. But they did not and instead resorted to heavy firing on security forces. In the gunfight, which continued till early Friday, two Pakistani LeT militants identified as Ali and Hubaib were killed, the police official said. The officer said Aatif, a class 6 student, was killed by the militants.
Two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants were killed in an overnight gunfight at Kalantara Payeen, Baramulla . One deceased militant was identified as Aamir Rasool of Sopore while the other was said to be a Pakistani national. Three armymen, including an officer, were also injured. An encounter also erupted at Gadapura village of Shopian in south Kashmir on Friday morning.