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Anantnag crossfire leaves civilian dead
A person wounded in a gunfight in Anantnag, Kashmir, succumbed to injuries. Two soldiers and a civilian were also killed. Security operations are ongoing.
A day after being wounded during an encounter between a group of terrorists and security forces in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Saturday, a person succumbed to injuries on Sunday, even as forces continued their search operation around the site of the gunfight in the district’s upper forest area that borders Doda.
Two army personnel were killed and another injured in the encounter that erupted in Ahlan Gagarmandu area of Kokernag in Anantnag district — the latest in a series of terror strikes in the Union territory, which is gearing up to host its first assembly elections since 2014. Two civilians suffered injuries during the exchange of fire.
“There were some people who were hit by bullets during the exchange of fire, of which one civilian has succumbed. Their presence at the place is a matter of investigation,” said Kashmir inspector general of police, VK Birdi. He said the other injured civilian was “stable” in the hospital.
The police did not reveal the identity of the injured civilians.
“We are also investigating their involvement in terror activities,” he said.
The surge in terror attacks has put J&K on alert and prompted the country’s political and defence brass to review the security situation in the UT. This year, 29 terrorists and four defence personnel have died in separate gunfights in Kashmir. In Jammu, 28 people, including 12 security personnel and five terrorists, have been killed in separate terror strikes and gun battles this year.
The encounter site is a hilly forest area surrounded by mountains which borders the Doda district of Chenab valley in Jammu, leading to suspicions that the militants may have crossed over from Doda where they had attacked an army team on July 15, killing an Indian Army captain and three soldiers.
“An intensive search operation is going on,” he said.
A defence spokesperson had said on Saturday that encounter site is located above 10,000 feet, has thick growth, large boulders, nallahs and re-entrants that poses a serious challenge to operations.
Birdi said that a group of 3-4 terrorists may have been involved in the encounter, which had erupted when the security forces were carrying out an operation to look for militants in the area.
“A search operation was going on in Gagarmandu after information was received about the movement of foreign terrorists in the upper reaches,” Birdi said.
Meanwhile, Indian Army Chief Upendra Dwivedi and other officers paid their homage to three personnel - Havaldar Dipak Kumar Yadav and Lance Naik Praveen Sharma – who died in Saturday’s gunfight.
“General Upendra Dwivedi COAS and All Ranks of #Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of bravehearts Hav Dipak Kumar Yadav & L/Nk Praveen Sharma, who laid down their lives in the line of duty, in Anantnag, J&K. Indian Army offers deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved families in this hour of grief,” said additional directorate general of public information, Indian Army, in a post on X.
The Chinar Corps also expressed their condolences on the death of the three personnel.
People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti also offered her condolences to the families of the soldiers and the dead civilian. “Saddened by the killing of two soldiers & a civilian in the Kokernag encounter. Violence begets only grief & mayhem. Deepest condolences to their families in this hour of tragedy,” she said in a post on X.
In a separate post, Jammu and Kashmir Police said, “We also renew our joint commitment to fight and finish the foreign marauders to keep our citizens, villagers and communities safe from the threat and terror of these mercenaries. #SaluteTheMartyrs”.
