Three militants killed in Tral gunfight
Army man critical, two dozens injured during clashes
Tral: Three militants were killed while an army man sustained critical injuries in an encounter at Gulshanpora village in Tral area of Pulwama district on Thursday, police said.
The security forces launched an anti-insurgency operation in the higher reaches of Tral area on Thursday morning following information about the presence of at least two militants in the forests. The search operation turned into an encounter when the militants, who were hiding, opened fire, the police official said.
“Three militants have been killed, while one soldier was injured in the operation,” the officer said.
As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the hiding militants and the fire was retaliated leading to a gunfight, he added.
In the ensuing encounter, three militants were killed. They have been identified as Zubair Ahmad Bhat @Abu Huraira son of Bashir Ahmad Bhat resident of ChursooAwantipora, Shakoor Ahmad Parray @Jaffar son of GhulamNabiParray resident of LaribalTral and Tawseef Ahmad Thoker @Abu Talha son of GhulamMohi-ud-deenThoker resident of ChursooBunporaAwantipora.
All the three were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of militant crimes including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities, police said.
It was a combined group of JeM and HM and as per police records Zubair was affiliated with proscribed outfit JeM while Shakoor and Tawseef were affiliated with proscribed outfit HM, the police official said.
He said that no collateral damage took place during the encounter.
The police official said that three army personnel were injured in the gunfight.
An army soldier was injured critically in a gunfight with militants in the forest area of GulshanporaTral in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Officials said that the soldier identified as SepoyNehminlanHaokip of 42 RR was airlifted to Army’s command hospital in Udhampur where he is undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, during day long clashes near the encounter site and later at national highway near Chersoo at least two dozen people suffered injuries.
As per sources soon after the news of encounter spread in the area, youth from different areas assembled and started pelting stones which was retaliated by aerial firing, pellets, tear smoke and sound shells by the police and security personnel.
“The doing dong battles that continued for most part of the day left about 20 people injured,” witnesses said.
They said that as the news about killing of Zubair and Tawseef (both residents of ChersooAwantipora) reached to their native areas, hundreds of people started to throng to the residences of slain militants however, they were not allowed by forces who were already deployed on national highway, sources added.
They said as forces were not allowing people to cross the highway and let them go to the either sides of the national highway, the youth assembled at many places and stared pelting stones on government forces which created a ruckus in the entire area.
Jahangeer Ganaie
