1 killed as security forces look for militants day after attack in J-K’s Poonch

Firing resumed between troops and militants on Monday morning, following Sunday’s day-long operations in which three suicide attackers were gunned down

Security forces gunned down a militant on Monday morning in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch, a day after the army killed three extremists and foiled multiple infiltration bids in the troubled state.

Police personnel take positions near a building where terrorists were hiding during an encounter on the outskirts of Poonch, in Jammu, on September 11, 2016. (PTI)

A police officer told HT that the militant was killed around 9:30am but the deputy inspector general of Rajouri-Poonch, Johny Williams, said the gun battle was still on and one more extremist might be holed up inside a mini-secretariat building.

“We have two options. Either wear them out or demolish the building. The latter is a hard option. But they have no way to escape because cordon is on and security forces are on,” said Williams.

The gunfights close to the line of control (LoC) began on Sunday morning and further roiled the Valley, where the death toll in more than two months of street protests have climbed to 78 with thousands injured.

Read | 7 militants, one policeman killed as 3 infiltration bids are foiled in J-K

On Sunday, the militants killed a policeman before splitting into two groups. Security forces had cordoned the areas last evening and fresh firing resumed at first light on Monday.

“As the security personnel were conducting searches, fresh firing broke out. As of now we cannot give the exact number of militants but there could be one or two ultras. Yesterday, the forces had gunned down three suicide attackers,” Williams said.

Army sources told HT that the bodies of the three extremists were yet to be retrieved and operations were not over.

“As the security personnel were conducting searches, fresh firing broke out. As of now we cannot give the exact number of militants but there could be one or two ultras. Yesterday, the forces had gunned down three suicide attackers,” William said.

The army said bodies of the three militants were yet to be retrieved. Another attack on Sunday close to an army base saw soldiers kill four other infiltrators in north Kashmir.