Reyaz Rashid
Baramulla: Two local militants and solider were killed while as a policeman and solider got injured in a day-long fierce gunbattle in Drusoo Watergam village in the outskirts of Sopore town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday.
Senior Superintendent of Police Sopore Javaid Iqbal while talking to media said, “ Following credible inputs about presence of militants in the area after attack on Army camp in Watergam, cordon and search operation was launched in Watergam and adjacent villages last evening which continued on Friday.”
He added that gunfight broke out after contact was established with militants. As the searches were underway, the hiding militants opened fire upon the forces triggering off a gunfight.
“Two local militants who refused surrender offer were killed in the gunfight and bodies were retrieved from the encounter spot,” he said.
The slain militants were identified as Reyaz Ahmad Dar son of Mohd Akbar of Naseerabad Chankhan, Sopore and Khursheed Ahmad Malik son of Ghulam Nabi Malik of Arabal Nikas, Pulwama.
Khursheed was pursuing B. Tech from a college in Katra district in Jammu region and had gone missing since Tuesday morning while as Reyaz had joined the militant ranks on July 18.
A police spokesman said that both the militants were affiliated with terror outfit LeT.
Meanwhile, two Army soldiers and the cop sustained injures in the encounter and the injured were evacuated to a hospital for treatment where from they were shifted to 92 base hospital Srinagar where Spoy Ranjeet succumbed to injuries.
An army officer said that another soldier Sepoy Vijay Kumar of army’s 22 RR suffered serious bullet wounds in his head while as a policeman Irfan Ahmad Wani also sustained injuries in the operation”.
Mobile Internet service was suspended while all educational institutional were closed in the Sopore area.
Witness said that stone-pelting clashes broke out near encounter site and Sopore town following which the market got closed.
Later they took the body to nearby Dar Uloom ground and offered his funeral prayers which was attended by a large number of people across north Kashmir.
Meanwhile a complete shutdown was witnessed in Sopore parts to mourn the killing of two local militants.
2 AK 47 rifles were recovered and other arms were recovered from the encounter site.
Meanwhile, in another gunbattle tonight, security forces killed an unidentified militant in Kiloora area of Shopian district of south Kashmir, an army official said.
A police official said that army personnel of 44 RR, CRPF and SOG men laid seige around the Killora village after having received inputs about the presence of militants in the area.
He said the security forces cordoned off the area following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants there and started a search operation there.
The search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon the security forces party, he said.
The operation is on, the army official said.
