SRINAGAR: Four militants including two commanders, and a soldier were killed in twin gunfights in Shopian and Kulgam districts of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday. Police said the slain militants were involved in killing a carpenter from UP and two labourers from Bihar last week.
A police official said that on specific input about the presence of militants, the police, CRPF and army personnel launched a joint cordon and search operation in Dragad area of Shopian. “During the operation, the militants were given an opportunity to surrender. They turned down the offer and fired on the troops,” he said.The fire was returned by the troops, triggering an encounter.
In the ensuing gunfight, two militants of The Resistance Front (TRF) were killed and three army men injured. The injured soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital, where one of them, identified as Sepoy Karanveer Singh, succumbed. The deceased militants were identified as Adil Hussain Wani, resident of Shopian, and Shakir Ahmad Wani resident of Pulwama.
According to IGP (Kashmir)Vijay Kumar, Adil was district commander of LeT (TRF) and active since July 2020. “He was involved in the killing of carpenter Sageer Ahmad of UP,” the IGP said. Sageer was shot dead by militants at Litter area of Pulwama on October 16. A police spokesman said one of the killers of the carpenter was a resident of Litter village in Pulwama and got active recently after joining the militant folds.
Another gunfight erupted in Sopat area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district in the evening. In the brief gunfight, two militants, including a Lashkar commander Gulzar Ahmed Rishi, were killed, IGP Vijay Kumar said. He said both the militants were involved in killing two migrant labourers (Raja Reshi Dev and Joginder Reshi Dev, both from Bihar) at Wanpoh, Kulgam on October 17.