Srinagar: Two Hizbul Mujahideen (HeM) militants were killed during an encounter in the city’s Nawakadal area Tuesday, informed police. A CRPF jawan and a Jammu and Kashmir policeman also suffered injuries during the battle. The militants were heavily armed, police said. As a result it took time for the police to neutralise them.
Crucial revelation
One of the two militants killed was identified as Junai Sehrai. He is the son of separatist conglomerate Tehreek-e-Hurriyat’s chairman Ashraf Sehrai. Junai went missing in March 2018 and later his picture, brandishing an AK-47, went viral on social media. The other militant killed is a foreign national, police informed.
The joining of Sehrai was the first such case where a son of a separatist leader of J&K had joined a terror group. He did so after completing his MBA from the Kashmir University.
Police statement
“Two militants have been killed in the operation at Nawakadal in Srinagar,” a police official said. He added that weapons and ammunition were seized from the spot.
Two security personnel – a CRPF jawan and a Jammu and Kashmir policeman – were injured in the gun battle with the militants, the official said.
Details of encounter
The encounter began after security forces launched a cordon and search operation Monday night. They did so following information about the presence of militants there.
Firing started around 2.00am in the morning. There was a lull in firing for about five hours after that. But fresh contact was established with the militants around 8.00am, the official said.
The official said mobile internet and mobile telephony services, except on BSNL postpaid, have been snapped in the city as a precautionary measure. He however, said that services will be restored soon after the entire area where the operations took place is santised.
