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5 J&K terrorists killed amid spate of attacks
3 terrorists were first killed in an overnight firefight that started late Monday in Shopian’s Imam Sahib area. As the operation was underway, another gunbattle began at Feeripora in which two terrorists were killed
Five terrorists were killed in two separate gun battles with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday amid intensified counter-insurgency operations after a series of targeted attacks left seven civilians dead this month. One of the five was involved in the killing of a street vendor in Srinagar, police said.
The gunfights came a day after five Indian Army soldiers lost their lives in an encounter in the region. The latest casualties are the worst security forces have suffered in anti-insurgency operations in J&K this year.
On Tuesday, a gunfight broke out following a raid by soldiers and police in the Imam Sahib area of Shopian, the police said. Security forces cordoned off the area late on Monday and firing began after the terrorists refused to surrender, they said. Three militants were killed early in the day. In another incident, two terrorists were killed at an apple orchard during an operation in Feeripora in southern Shopian district, according to the police.
Several operations have been launched across Kashmir since the civilian killings. The police said two of the terrorists involved in two killings at Hajin and Srinagar have so far been shot dead. The five terrorists killed on Tuesday included Mukhtar Shah, who shifted base from Ganderbal district to Shopian after allegedly killing the vendor, Virendra Paswan.
“In the last 24 hours, based on specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the twin villages of Shopian – Tulran and Feeripora – two anti-terrorist operations were carried out, resulting in the elimination of five ultras. The slain terrorists include Mukhtar Shah, who was involved in the targeted killing of a non-local vendor at the Lal Bazar area of Srinagar,” a police statement said.
An official said the three terrorists killed in the first gunfight on Tuesday were affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF) – a shadow outfit of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). TRF has claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians in the recent days.
A joint operation was launched in Feeripora following inputs from J&K Police, defence spokesperson Emron Masuavi said. “Repeated calls to surrender were turned down by the terrorists, who fired on our forces in return, forcing the forces to take action. Two terrorists were eliminated in the gun battle,” said Masuavi. An AK-47 rifle and armament were recovered from the spot.
On Monday, police said Imtiyaz Ahmad Dar, who went underground after allegedly killing taxi driver Mohammad Shafi Lone last week, was killed in a gun battle at Gundjahangir in Bandipora district. Four people were arrested in connection with Lone’s killing on Sunday, the police said. The killing was carried out at the behest and instructions of Lashkar-e-Taiba handler Lala Umar of Pakistan, they said.
One terrorist was killed in another exchange of fire with security forces in Verinag on Monday. A policeman was injured.
October, just before the onset of winter, usually sees an increase in infiltration attempts with handlers of the terrorists in Pakistan trying to get more of them into India before traversing the already inhospitable terrain becomes almost impossible.
Four exchanges of fire were reported across the Valley on Monday when five soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer, were killed in an exchange of fire with heavily armed terrorists in a forest in Surankote in Poonch district amid a spike in violence in the region.
The J&K Police said terrorists involved in the attack on security forces in Poonch district in which five army personnel lost their lives were in the area for two to three months. Deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Rajouri-Poonch range, Vivek Gupta said the terrorists have been confined to a particular area and asserted that the operation shall be taken “to a logical conclusion in the shortest time”.
Security forces have killed 120 terrorists in Kashmir this year, including over a dozen top commanders.
