2 militants who attacked BJP leader’s house among 3 killed in J&K gunfight

Three militants were killed in an encounter with security forces at Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on Friday, police said.

The police identified the three as Suhail Nisar Lone, Yasir Wani and Junaid Ahmad, all from Pulwama. “They had joined militancy this year,” IGP (Kashmir Zone) Vijay Kumar said.

The IGP said two of the three slain militants were involved in the attack on the house of BJP leader Anwar Khan on Thursday in which a J&K Police constable was killed. The police said that weapons, including the firearm stolen from the constable who was killed, were recovered.

Kumar said two of the militants involved in Thursday’s attack were affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Toiba and two to Al Badr. A search is on for the remaining two militants who were involved in Thursday’s attack.

“Of the four militants involved in Thursday’s attack, two were from Pulwama and two from Srinagar. After interrogating an OGW [overground worker] yesterday, we traced the militants’ whereabouts to Kakapora in Pulwama,” Kumar said.

He said the car used by the militants on Thursday to flee after the attack was found “parked outside the house where the encounter took place” in Pulwama.

According to the police, a woman sustained a bullet injury in the crossfire, while two others were injured by pellets during a stone-pelting incident after the encounter. “All three had minor injuries and are being treated,” Kumar said.

Speaking on the recent spate of attacks in Kashmir, Kumar said: “Threat remains for all political parties. Everyone has a different level of threat and it is correct that BJP has a higher level of threat. We are reviewing security arrangements for this.”