Four militants, soldier killed in J&K encounters

Four militants and a soldier were killed while two policemen were injured in two separate encounters between security forces and ultras across Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Reports said three militants belonging to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit and an army soldier were killed in Batote area of Ramban district in Jammu region in which two policemen also got injuries. The encounter broke out after militants lobbed a grenade on security forces party and later forced their entry into the house of BJP activist, identified as Vijay Kumar and took his family hostage

“It took security forces some time to rescue the hostages before an assault on a hiding militant was made. In the gunfight three ultras and an army jawan were killed while two cops were injured,” a police spokesperson said.

The slain militants were identified as Usman, Zahid and Haroon hailing from Kishtwar district and affiliated with the Hizbul, he said and added they were involved in several militancy-related cases in the area.

In a separate encounter, an unidentified militant was killed near high altitude Gangabal area of Kangan in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir by army’s 24-Rashtriya Rifles. Police or The identity of the slain militant couldn’t be established immediately.

In the early 1990s, at the peak of insurgency in Kashmir hundreds of militants infiltrated through this route. However, since last more than two decades, there were no reports of infiltration in this area.

“It is an important development, as it seems Pakistan has reactivated terror camps in Gilgit-Baltistan area under the supervision of Northern Light Infantry (NLI) of Pakistan army. In the coming weeks, there is a possibility of major infiltration bids through this route,” an army officer told DH.

Since August 5, when mobile phone and internet services were snapped in Kashmir after the Center abrogated J&K’s special status under Article 370, the encounters between militants and security forces saw a drastic decline.

In the previous 54-days, only two encounters took place in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district in which two militants and a policeman were killed. The source network of army and police had become almost defunct due to the snapping of mobile and internet services.

However, National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, who was on a two-day visit to Kashmir earlier this week, had asked the security agencies to intensify anti-militancy operations in Kashmir using human intelligence.

“If today’s encounters are any indication, the coming weeks and months will see a rise in anti-militancy operations by security forces. However, there is also possibility of militants carrying fidayeen (suicide) attacks in J&K as was hinted by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in his speech at UN General Assembly on Friday evening,” a senior police officer said