Heavy firing was underway in Kulgam’s Arwani village as security forces cordoned off the area. (Source: Google Maps)
An encounter broke out on Friday between security forces and three militants in Arwani village in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara area, news agency PTI reported.
According to police, the encounter began at 10 am after security forces and army personnel cordoned off a house at Malik Mohalla in the village two hours earlier. They had received a tip-off that three militants were present inside.
Police also said that five civilians were injured when they tried to stall the counter-insurgency operation. Police added that conversations overheard from Lashkar suggested that Junaid Mattoo, a local youth, was among the three trapped inside the house, along with Azad Malik and a Pakistani terrorist.
Mattoo is believed to be responsible for the fatal daylight shooting of two policemen at a bus stand in Anantnag in June 2016, an incident which was purportedly caught in CCTV camera.
