One civilian was killed and another injured in an operation against hiding militants in south Kashmir on Thursday. Three militants are believed to have been trapped as the gunfight continued.
A Srinagar-based police spokesman said a stray bullet hit Arif Ahmad Shah near the encounter site. “We appeal to the people not to assemble or come close to the encounter site as there is every chance that stray bullets may hit them,” the spokesman said.
Local people threw stones at the Army, the police and the CRPF who carried out a joint operation against hiding militants at Hassanpora-Tabela in Arwani, near the boundary of Kulgam and Anantnag districts.
A gunfight between the militants and a search party started on Wednesday afternoon. Eyewitnesses told The Hindu that scores of civilians sustained injuries as they clashed with security forces at a number of locations, near and away from the encounter site. The authorities suspended mobile-phone services in the afternoon as unconfirmed reports suggested Lashkar-e-Taiba’s operational commander Abu Dujjana was trapped, fuelling more protests.
Two houses damaged
Police sources said militants had met in a house, but Dujjana might have fled. At least two houses were damaged in the encounter as the militants switched from one structure to another.
“The encounter is still continuing. One body is seen near the encounter site. We have not recovered it as the other militants holed up in the building are still firing,” S.P. Vaid, Special Director-General of Police Coordination, Law and Order, told presspersons in Srinagar.
The PoK-based United Jihad Council chief Syed Salahuddin confirmed the death of three local militants Majid Zargar, Muhammad Waseem and Rahil Amin.
