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Six terrorists, 1 army jawan killed in J&K encounters: Police
Among the terrorists, three each were killed in Nowgam Dooru area of Anantnag, and Mirhama village of Kulgam, IGP Vijay Kumar said.
Srinagar: Six terrorists and an army jawan were killed in the encounters in Anantnag and Kulgam, which broke out on Wednesday night and ended on Thursday, IGP Vijay Kumar said at a press conference.
Three terrorists were killed in the overnight operation in Nowgam Dooru area of Anantnag, and three others were gunned down in Mirhama village of Kulgam, Kumar said. Four security personnel were injured in the operations, of whom, one succumbed to his injuries, he added.
All the terrorists, two of whom were foreign nationals, were associated with the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror group, Kumar said. He added that three of them were involved in the December 13 attack on a police bus in Zewan, in which three policemen were killed.
Security forces had launched joint operations in both areas based on specific inputs regarding the presence of terrorists, Kumar said.
General officer commanding of the army’s 15 Corps, Lt Gen D P Pandey identified the army jawan who was killed as Sepoy Jasbir Singh.
On the Anantnag operation, IGP Kumar said: “During the search operation, as the presence of terrorists was ascertained they fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party leading to an encounter. In the initial exchange of fire, four security forces personnel including a policeman received gunshot injuries. They were evacuated to hospital for treatment however, one Army jawan succumbed to his injuries.”
Kumar said the operation was halted on Wednesday night to evacuate civilians from the area and the gunfight broke out again on Thursday morning.
The terrorists killed in the operation were identified as Sultan alias Rayees alias Mavia (a foreign national), Nisar Ahmad Khanday of Dudwangan Kapran and Altaf Ahmad Shah of Nathipora Dooru.
“As per police records, all the killed terrorists were part of group involved in several terror crime cases, including attacks on security forces and civilian atrocities. Several terror crime cases were registered against them including the attack on family of a police personnel at Kokagund, in which his wife and daughter received injuries,” IGP Kumar said.
He said Altaf and Sultan were involved in the Zewan attack along with another terrorist Suhail Rather.
Kumar identified the three terrorists killed in the Kulgam operation as Shahid alias Shahzaid (foreign national), Mohammad Shafi Dar of Tral and Uzair Ahmad of Mirhama.
“As per police records, the killed foreign terrorist Shahid was listed among the top most wanted terrorists operating in J&K while the other were also categorised terrorists linked with proscribed terror outfit JeM. As per police records, the killed terrorists were part of a group involved in several terror crime cases including attacks on security forces and civilian atrocities,” a police spokesman said.
He added that a huge cache of arms and ammunition including two M4 rifles and four AK-47 rifles were recovered from the sites of encounters.
Active terrorists in valley below 100: IGP
With the two encounters that ended on Thursday, police said that for the first time, the number of local active operatives has come down to below 100 in the Valley.
Security forces have killed 188 militants in J&K, including 19 foreign nationals, according to police data.
IGP Kumar pegged the number of active local terrorists in the Valley at 85-86 and said the active terrorist in J&K numbered less than 200. “This is the first in history that the number of active local militants [in the valley] has come down below 100,” he remarked
According to the IGP, 29 security forces personnel -- including 20 policemen, six armymen and three CRPF jawans -- and 34 civilians were killed in the course of anti-terror operations in J&K this year.
He added that 82 terrorists or associates and around 592 overground workers have been arrested in J&K this year.
GoC Pandey said youth over the age of 21 were not joining terrorist ranks now. “Now, youth who are in the age bracket of 15 and 16 years old are recruited...”
