Srinagar: Three persons, including two civilians and a security personnel, were injured in an encounter that broke out between militants and security forces on Thursday after the militants fired upon a BSF convoy in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, officials said.
“Terrorists opened fire on a BSF convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at Malpora in the Qazigund area of Kulgam,” they said.
The officials said the convoy was on its way to Srinagar from Jammu.
A police spokesperson said there were no injuries in the initial attack but the assailants were trapped as a cordon was laid around the area.
“Terrorists fired upon BSF convoy at NHW #Kulgam. No injury reported. However, terrorists trapped,” the police quoted IGP, Kashmir Vijay Kumar as saying.
The spokesperson said reinforcements were called in as senior officers of the police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Army were also present on the spot.
The officials said after the evacuation of civilians from the area, a gun-battle broke out between the security forces and the militants.
A CRPF personnel was injured in the exchange of fire, which was intermittently going on between the two sides, they added.
They said exchange of fire is going on from both sides. A CRPF man identified as Umesh Singh, son of Prabu Singh from Jharkhand, was injured, who was shifted to Emergency Hospital Qazigund for treatment. “Two Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists are believed to be trapped inside a building,” they said.
Local news agency KNO reported that the gunfight site also witnessed clashes between youth and the security forces in which two youth sustained injuries, who were shifted to GMC Anantnag for treatment, where the condition of one of the injured is stated as critical.
Quoting eye-witnesses, the news agency reported that two youth sustained bullet injuries during clashes who were shifted to GMC Anantnag. Hospital sources, according to KNO identified them as Sahil Yaqoob Bhat of Dantar Anantnag, and Shahid Farooq Sheikh of Kulgam.
“Sahil has received a bullet injury in lower abdomen and is being operated on at the GMC. His condition is a bit critical,” a hospital source said, adding that another injured sustained bullet injury in his thigh and is stable, the news agency reported.
In the wake of gunfight, vehicular traffic on the highway was diverted through other routes, the officials added.
