Cops kill two LeT militants in Srinagar

Gunfight lasted for 23 hrs; longest in recent years

In one of the longest gunfights in recent years, two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants were killed and two security personnel injured in the Ahmad Nagar area on the outskirts of Srinagar city on Monday.

The face-off began on Sunday at 6 pm, and ended on  Monday evening at 5 pm, with the killing of both the militants holed up in a house.

A police officer told Deccan Herald the cops received specific input about the presence of the militants in Ahmad Nagar, 14 km from city centre Lal Chowk, after which they cordoned the location on Sunday evening.

During the initial stage of the fierce gunfight on Sunday evening, one cop was hit by a bullet, said the officer, adding that security forces suspended the operation during the night. However, intermittent firing went on throughout the night.

The encounter resumed on Monday morning at around 9 am, after house owner Abdul Majid Rangrez and his wife came out of their residence, where the militants were holed up. Kashmir’s Inspector General of Police A G Mir claimed the holed-up militants had taken the family hostage.

 “It was a challenge for the security forces to evacuate them first. That is why it took us some time to neutralise the militants,” he said.

The police have identified the slain militants as Abu Huzaifa and Chota Hafiz of the LeT. However, a local news agency, quoting tele-statement of the now defunct Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen, claimed that the slain militants belonged to their outfit.

Meanwhile, protests and stone-pelting erupted in Ahmad Nagar and its adjoining areas on Monday evening, continuing till this report was filed.