A commander of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit and a soldier were killed in an encounter between security forces and militants in south Kashmir’s restive Pulwama district on Wednesday.
The encounter erupted after security forces launched a search operation in an orchard in Kamrazipora village of Pulwama during the wee hours of Wednesday based on specific information about the presence of militants there, officials said.
The search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire, injuring two soldiers, they said and added one of the injured army personnel later succumbed at 92-Base hospital in Srinagar.
The slain soldier was identified as Jagjit Singh.
J&K police chief Dilbagh Singh identified the slain militant as Azaad Lelhari, a self-styled commander of the Hizbul, “who was involved in the killing of a policeman on May 22.”
“Six FIRs were registered against him for militant-related killings. Earlier, he was detained under PSA as OGW (over ground worker) but he became active again,” he said.
An army spokesperson said one AK47 assault rifle along with grenades, pouches and other war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site.
It was the first encounter between the militants and the security forces in Kashmir this month. Security forces have killed nearly 150 militants in Jammu and Kashmir in the first seven months of this year compared to 157 ultras killed in 2019.
Among these, only 17 were Pakistani militants which is almost 50% less compared to the last year. Last year, out of 154 slain militants, 32 were Pakistanis. Intelligence inputs suggest 80-100 Pakistani militants are still active in the Valley, with most of them hiding in the upper reaches of north Kashmir.
Last week, Dilbagh Singh said that active militants in J&K has been around 200 compared to 350 or 400 earlier. “All the terror organisations are leaderless now and those militants who are recruited as leaders of any group by Pakistan-based handlers are caught or killed,” he said.
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