JOIN USThree Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, including a top commander, were killed in an fierce gun battle between ultras and security forces in the Pulwama district of South Kashmir on Tuesday.
On Monday evening, the police received information that the militants were in the Hanjan village of Pulwama, around 40 km from here, after which security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. “The militants hiding in the area fired at the search party and triggered an encounter. The cordon was strengthened while searches were stopped overnight,” the police said.
Reports said the intermittent exchange of fire went on between the two sides throughout the night and as search operations resumed this morning, hiding militants fired at security forces indiscriminately to break open the cordon. In the crossfire, three militants, who have been identified as JeM district commander Altaf Ahmad Rather, Showkat Ahmad and Farooq Ahmad, were killed.
The slain militants were locals and according to sources, one of them had joined militant ranks on August 19 this year. A senior police officer told Deccan Herald that the JeM commander was involved in several militant activities. “Altaf was one of the group members involved in the attack and was involved in a weapon snatching incident at a police guard in Pakharpora shrine this year,” he said.