SRINAGAR: Three militants and a policeman were killed while as one CRPF personnel and SOG constable sustained injuries in an encounter at Tral on Monday.
Brig Deepak Banerjee, Commander 1st Sector RR, who was supervising the operation, said a joint team of army, SOG and CRPF cordoned off Maldoora village in Tral on a specific tipoff.
Following a specific information about the presence of militants, armys 42 RR, CRPF and SOG jointly cordoned off Maldoora area of Tral in district Pulwama, said Brig Banerjee, adding, Soldiers challenged the militants but they opened fire which was retaliated, leading to a gunfight. The army commander said that the operation was carried out cautiously to avoid collateral damage.
Awaam (people) was the primary concern, therefore forces exercised maximum restraint, he said.
He said that during the operation, adequate chance was given to the militants to surrender despite the joint party coming under heavy fire.
We gave them enough chance to surrender despite a barrage of bullets they kept firing in our direction, said Brig Banerjee.
The encounter, according to the Brigadier, intensified in the morning. The gunfight ended with the death of three militants, but searches are still on and we have not called off the operation yet, he added.
He said army had recovered the bodies and weapons and called the police. We are also trying to ascertain the identity of the slain militants.
The commander said that three AK 47 Rifles and some other ammunition was recovered from the slain militants.
Meanwhile, J&K Police identified one of the militants as the District Commander of the indigenous militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.
According to a late evening police press note, three militants including the District Commander of Hizb were killed in an encounter at Mandoora Tral while one policeman was killed as well.
On a specific information a joint team of Awantipora police, CRPF and Army cordoned off a house in Mandoora village of Tral, in the morning today, said the press release, While the cordon was being laid, militants hiding in the house fired, triggering an encounter. Two policemen and two CRPF personal were injured in the initial gunfight. While one of the injured constables, Mushtaq, got martyred on the spot, the other three were shifted to the hospital.
According to police, the encounter continued till afternoon. The house in which militants were hiding got damaged in the encounter. Bodies of three militants were retrieved from the encounter site. The slain militants included Shabir Ahmad Bhat alias Adil of Hayna, Tral. Shabir was active in Tral area of Pulwama district since 2007 and was the District commander of HM, police said.
According to police, Shabir was involved in the killing of Manzoor Ahmad Keeli alias Man Keeli in 2009 and Ghulam Mohideen Bhat, a political worker, in Pinglish Tral in 2011.
He was also involved in the IED blast at Nawdal road attempting to kill police officers. He was also involved in the firing on a civilian Abdul Rashid Gojjar at Machama. He was also behind the arson of AR cable network in 2011, said police.
The other two militants have been identified as Shahnawaz Mir alias Tahir Khan of Dadsar Tral and Aijaz Laway alias Majid of Lurgam, Tral. Both of them had joined HM in 2011. Shahnawaz had escaped from an encounter at Busoo, Tral on 24 May, 2013.
