Srinagar, June 22
Three local Lashker-e-Toiba militants were killed and an Army officer was injured in an overnight gunfight in Kashmir's Pulwama district.
A protester was later killed and scores of others were injured in clashes that erupted in Pulwama following the killing of the militants.
The gunfight had erupted late Wednesday at Kakpora, nearly 30 km from Srinagar, when joint teams of the police, Army and CRPF launched a cordon-and-search operation following input on militants' presence.
“As the searches were launched in the area, militants opened fire, which was retaliated, triggering a gunfight. In the exchange that continued for many hours, three local Lashkar militants were killed and a Major was injured,” a police officer in south Kashmir said. Two Rifles and ammunition were also seized from the site.
Sources identified the three slain militants as Majid Mir, Shakir Ahmed and Irshad, all residents of Pulwama.
Clashes also broke during the operation and youth pelted stones at the forces to disrupt the operation. The police had to fire teargas shells to disperse the protesters.
After the encounter broke, the authorities suspended the Internet service in Pulwama district late last evening. The situation was tense in the district.
As the news about the killing of three militants spread, clashes and protest erupted in the area. In the ongoing clashes, 22-year-old Touseef Ahmed Wani, a resident of Tengpuna Pulwama, was killed and many other were injured.
At least five militants have been killed since Wednesday morning. Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a district commander, were killed in an encounter with the police and security forces in Pazalpora area of north Kashmir's Sopore sub-district.
