JOIN USAn unidentified militant was killed and a policeman wounded in an ongoing gunfight in volatile Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday.
Sources said the gunfight broke out in Darganaie Gund village of Tral, 42 kms from here, after joint teams of army 42-Rashtriya Rifles and J&K police laid a siege following “specific inputs” about the presence of militants in the area.
“As the security forces were moving in the area, the hiding militants opened fire on them injuring a policeman. In the retaliatory action by the forces one militant was killed so far,” they said and added the identity of the slain militant could not be ascertained immediately.
Stepping up their winter offensive, security forces have launched major counter-insurgency operations against militants across the valley. In October out of 30 killed militants, three were district-level commanders and a well-trained sniper, who picked targets in the darkness of night. The killed ultras included Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) scholar-turned-militant commander Manan Wani and Sabzar Ahmad Sofi, who had an M. Phil and had qualified National Eligibility Test (NET).
The pinpoint counter-insurgency operations launched jointly by the army and J&K police are an indication that security forces have tightened their hold in Kashmir, especially worst-hit southern districts of Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama and Anantnag.