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Three securitymen killed in Kupwara encounter Srinagar, April 8 When the encounter was going on, suspected militants carried out a hit-and-run attack in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district injuring a policeman. Before fleeing, they snatched his service rifle, sources said. The encounter in Kupwara began on Monday at Zunrishi Chokibal village, 130 km from Srinagar, when a joint operation was launched by Army and the SOG Handwara and Kupwara after a specific information about the presence of militants in the house of Sadiq Mir. “After the search operation was launched, a gun fight erupted in which two militants were killed, while two policemen and an Army jawan achieved supreme sacrifice. Our men, who were killed in the encounter, fought valiantly throughout the night,” Inspector-General of Police Abdul Gani Mir said. “The two militants are foreigners and we are trying to ascertain their identity,” he said. The IGP said the police were investigating whether there were only two militants or more hiding in the area. The slain policemen have been identified as Head Constable Mohammad Shafi and Constable Riyaz Ahmad. The slain Army trooper was identified as Naib Subedar Kankanwadi of 19 Maratha Light Infantry. Srinagar-based defence spokesman Lt Col NN Joshi identified the two killed militants as Vilayat Khan, divisional commander, and Abu Kasha. “Both terrorists belonged to LeT. Two AK 47 rifles were recovered from the site. Search of the nearby houses and the adjoining jungle area is underway,” the spokesman said. Sources, however, said the joint team of the police and Army was caught off guard while carrying out search in the house. “The house where the militants were hiding was searched twice by a joint team of police and Army, but nothing was found. As the information was correct, the search party entered the house for the third time and tried to break a wooden wall. The militants, who were hiding on the first floor, opened indiscriminate firing and the search team was taken off guard,” said the sources.“In the initial gun fight five policemen and a JCO sustained injuries,” he said. After the initial exchange of fire, a fierce encounter erupted in which three more securitymen and an elder lady Shaha Begum, an inmate of the house, were injured. There are also reports that a policeman was dragged by the militants and later shot dead. The police have, however, denied the report. The exchange of fire continued throughout the night. Lashkar men
(With inputs from Amin Masoodi in
Kupwara and Suhail A Shah in Anantnag)
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