Srinagar: Two local Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants were killed Tuesday in an encounter with security forces. The incident occurred in the Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir. The encounter with the militants lasted for a substantial amount of time, police said.
Details of encounter
Police gave details of the encounter. Police said that they had specific intelligence regarding the presence of militants. Accordingly a joint team of police, army and CRPF cordoned off Pamposh colony in Saimoh of Tral.
As the cordon was being laid, there was an initial exchange of fire at the crack of dawn between the holed-up terrorists and the security forces. During that one of the militants was eliminated, police said.
The other militant was seen running into a locality full of residential houses. It prompted security forces to cordon off the area. They evacuated the civilians and launched a search operation. The searches however, yielded no results.
Mob resistance
The determined security forces continued in their pursuit for the escaped terrorist. However, they had to face resistance from a small mob of about 40 people. They gathered at the encounter site and started pelting the forces with stones. However, the security forces took effective control of the area. They dispersed the mob firing tear gas shells and by caning the crowd. The forces finally found the militant hiding near a water conduit.
After a brief exchange of fire, he was also killed by the security forces, a police spokesperson said.
Incriminating material, arms and ammunition including two AK rifles were recovered from their possession. Police also found two pistols and two hand grenades on them, the spokesman said. He added due to efforts of the police and security forces it was a clean operation without any collateral damage.
Upping the ante
The identity of the militants was not revealed by police as a new policy during the COVID-19 lockdown.
It should be stated here security forces have upped the ante against militants in the valley over the past two months. They have so far killed 44 militants in April and May. The total number of militants killed in 2020 so far stands at 88.
PTI