2 Jaish militants, civilian killed in Kashmir’s Shopian

Two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants and a civilian were killed in an encounter and subsequent protests in Kundalan village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday morning. The incident left more than 20 protesters and two army men injured.

Director General of Police (DGP) Shesh Pal Vaid confirmed that two militants were killed in the gunfight that raged for several hours. He said the militants were affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad. One of the slain militants was identified as Sameer Sheikh, a local.

Reports said as the encounter was underway, hundreds of locals, especially youth, threw stones at security forces to break the cordon and rescue holed up militants from the spot.

However, the police and paramilitary forces used tear gas shells, pellet guns and fired shots to disperse the protesters. In the incident, over 20 protesters were injured, some of them critically.

One of the injured, Tamsheel Khan, succumbed at SMHS hospital in Srinagar.

Earlier in the day, the gunfight broke out after a joint team of army’s 44-Rashtriya Rifles, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and paramilitary CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in Kundalan.

“Five to six militants hiding in the area opened fire after a forces’ party closed in on them, triggering a gunfight. Two security personnel, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO), were injured in the initial exchange of firing,” sources said and added both the injured security personnel have been evacuated to the army’s 92-Base Hospital in Srinagar.

“While two militants were killed in the encounter, three to four managed to escape taking advantage of the stone pelting in the area,” they added.

As the news about the encounter broke out, the father of one of the hiding militants died of shock after hearing that his son was trapped. Muhammad Ishaq Naikoo, the father of Zeenat who had joined militant ranks recently, was declared dead on arrival by the doctors at a hospital.

Since the Centre called off the Ramzan ceasefire last month, there has been a spurt in encounters between security forces and militants in Kashmir.

On June 20, in the first encounter after the ceasefire ended, three militants were killed while two paramilitary officers were injured in Tral area of Pulwama district.

On June 22, six people, including four militants, one policeman and a civilian, were killed in an encounter in Srigufwara village of Anantnag district in southern Kashmir.

This year, around 220 people, including 110 militants, 62 civilians and 48 police, army and paramilitary personnel have been killed in the Valley.