Forces kill 3 terrorists in twin J&K gunfights
The forces were fired upon when they tried to enter a house, triggering the first major encounter in Srinagar in two years
Three terrorists, including a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, were killed and four security personnel injured after parallel encounters broke out in Jammu & Kashmir, officials familiar with the matter said on Saturday, the latest in a spate of gunfights that have roiled the region since the conclusion of assembly elections.
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According to officials, a joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and J&K Police launched a cordon and search operation in the Khanyar locality of Srinagar after receiving information about the presence of terrorists in the old city. The forces were fired upon when they tried to enter a house, triggering the first major encounter in the J&K summer capital in two years, they added.
“A cordon & search operation in Khanyar area of district Srinagar has resulted in an exchange of fire. Police & security forces are on the job,” the J&K Police posted on X in the morning.
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Visuals from the encounter site showed smoke billowing from a house as the forces and the hiding terrorist exchanged fire. In the evening, security officials said that Pakistan-based LeT terrorist group’s commander, who was involved in the killing of a J&K Police inspector last year, was shot dead in the encounter.
“Security forces have killed a terrorist, who has been identified as Usman, he was a commander of LeT. He is a foreign terrorist, and his role and involvement in the murder of Inspector Masroor have come to light. Further investigation is being done in this regard,” Kashmir’s inspector general of police (IGP) VK Birdi said.
J&K Police inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani was shot thrice by a terrorist from close range on a cricket field in Srinagar in October of last year. He was initially undergoing treatment at the Paras Hospital in Srinagar, but was later airlifted and shifted to the trauma department of AIIMS, Delhi. The 34-year-old succumbed to his injuries after 40 days.
According to officials, Usman (who went by one name) was active in the Valley for several years, and his killing will deal a severe blow to LeT and its offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF).
“Usman was also the right hand of Sajad Gul, the TRF commander based in Pakistan,” a senior police officer said, requesting anonymity.
Officials added that two CRPF jawans and two personnel of the J&K Police’s Special Operation Group (SOG) were also injured in the operation. They were shifted to the Army Hospital, where their condition was stable. Before Saturday, the last major encounter broke out in Srinagar in September 2022 when two terrorists of the al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind were gunned down by security forces
As security forces battled extremists in Srinagar, a joint team of the Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and J&K Police launched a search operation in the Anantnag district of Kashmir, roughly 80km away, after receiving input about the presence of terrorists in the Halkan Gali area. During the search operation, the terrorists fired upon the security personnel, resulting in a gunfight.
“Suspicious movement near Halkan Gali was observed and challenged by vigilant troops, as a result, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire on own column. Own troops effectively retaliated, resulting in the elimination of two terrorists,” the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps said in a post on X. The identities of the slain terrorists were yet to be ascertained.
Saturday’s gunfights come against the backdrop of a string of terror attacks and encounters in J&K after its first elected government since the revocation of Article 370 in 2019 was sworn in on October 16. Earlier this week, security forces gunned down three terrorists after a group of extremists opened indiscriminate fire on an army ambulance in a village near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu district. On October 24, two soldiers and two civilian porters were killed after terrorists ambushed an army convoy in the Baramulla district of Kashmir. Four days before that, seven people were killed when terrorists opened fire on a construction site camp in the Ganderbal district of the Valley. On October 18, Ashok Chauhan, a 37-year-old migrant labourer from Bihar was shot dead by suspected terrorists in Shopian district of South Kashmir.
The attacks have ruptured the fragile peace maintained in J&K during the polling cycle and renewed security concerns in a region that has been embroiled in gunfights throughout the year. J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah has called “the recent spate of attacks in Kashmir a matter of serious concern” and urged security forces to remain on alert.
On Saturday, defence minister Rajnath Singh said that the surge in extremist strikes was not due to a security lapse. “This is not an issue of security lapses. Our security forces are on alert and such a situation will come that terror activities will be fully wiped out and J&K will develop at a fast pace,” he said in Kanpur.
This year,nine personnel and 15 civilians have died in terror attacks in Kashmir. Security forces have killed 24 terrorists in the Valley in the same period. In the same period, 15 security personnel and 11 civilians have died in separate attacks in Jammu. Security forces have gunned down 10 terrorists in the region.
Meanwhile, search operations continued in the Bandipora district after suspected terrorists opened fire at defence personnel and fled. “On 01 Nov 2024 late evening, suspicious movement was spotted, in gen area Panar of Bandipora, by alert troops. On being challenged, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire and escaped into the jungle. Search Operation underway,” Chinar Corps posted on X.