4 militants, 2 army jawans killed in encounter in Kulgam
SRINAGAR: Four militants and two army personnel were killed while three Army personnel were injured in an encounter in Kulgam district of south Kashmir.
The encounter started around 11 pm on Saturday in Nagbal Frisal area of Kulgam, around 70 kms from Srinagar, when teams of police, army and CRPF, acting on a tip off cordoned the area and started a search operation. The exchange of fire continued till 10 am on Sunday.
"The encounter started around 11 pm last night and has just concluded. Two army men have attained martyrdom," DIG south Kashmir, S P Pani told ET.
Another senior police official added that three army personnel were also injured and four militants were killed during the encounter.
Srinagar based defense spokesperson, also confirmed the death toll and claimed that four weapons were recovered from the spot.
According to reports, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants killed at the encounter site were locals and police is expecting huge funeral processions. Locals have started gathering at the encounter site and police and paramilitary forces have resorted to tear smoke shelling to disperse the crowd.
The killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani with his two colleagues on July 8, last year, triggered massive civilian protests across the Valley, which police officials claims created another situation for youth to join militant ranks. Many youngsters started to snatch weapons from the police officials to manage a quick entry.
Since July, last year, 59 locals have joined militant ranks and more than 60 weapons have been snatched. The counter militancy operations had stopped during the five months of street protests, but have resumed since then and are continuing at a fast pace, as protests subsided since November last year.
J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has urged the J&K Police to persuade local militants to surrender and manage their reentry into the mainstream of development. Police claims that they were successful in persuading few militants to surrender. However, the militants alleged that the government was harassing their families under the garb of the surrender policy. Local Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant, Zakir, in a video message, warned police of dire consequences, if the latter continued to harass the families of militants.
The encounter started around 11 pm on Saturday in Nagbal Frisal area of Kulgam, around 70 kms from Srinagar, when teams of police, army and CRPF, acting on a tip off cordoned the area and started a search operation. The exchange of fire continued till 10 am on Sunday.
"The encounter started around 11 pm last night and has just concluded. Two army men have attained martyrdom," DIG south Kashmir, S P Pani told ET.
Another senior police official added that three army personnel were also injured and four militants were killed during the encounter.
Srinagar based defense spokesperson, also confirmed the death toll and claimed that four weapons were recovered from the spot.
According to reports, the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants killed at the encounter site were locals and police is expecting huge funeral processions. Locals have started gathering at the encounter site and police and paramilitary forces have resorted to tear smoke shelling to disperse the crowd.
The killing of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani with his two colleagues on July 8, last year, triggered massive civilian protests across the Valley, which police officials claims created another situation for youth to join militant ranks. Many youngsters started to snatch weapons from the police officials to manage a quick entry.
Since July, last year, 59 locals have joined militant ranks and more than 60 weapons have been snatched. The counter militancy operations had stopped during the five months of street protests, but have resumed since then and are continuing at a fast pace, as protests subsided since November last year.
J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has urged the J&K Police to persuade local militants to surrender and manage their reentry into the mainstream of development. Police claims that they were successful in persuading few militants to surrender. However, the militants alleged that the government was harassing their families under the garb of the surrender policy. Local Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant, Zakir, in a video message, warned police of dire consequences, if the latter continued to harass the families of militants.
