Anantnag: Two militants believed to be members of Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit were killed in a gunfight with government forces Saturday in Dangerpora village of south Kashmir’s Pulwama.
Intense clashes between locals who tried to march towards the site of the gunfight and government forces were witnessed around the site of the gunfight.
The identity of the slain militants was not given out by the authorities in continuation to the last more than five gunfights in south Kashmir. The authorities have been sending bodies of militants to Sonamarg and Baramulla for burial without revealing their identities in view of Covid-19 lockdown.
The gunfight erupted at about 7:45 am, couple of hours after a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) was launched in the Dangerpora area of Pulwama district.
A senior police official from Pulwama said that the operation was launched following specific inputs about presence of militants in the area.
“The militants were asked to surrender but they opened indiscriminate fire instead. The fire was retaliated triggering a gunfight in which two militants were killed,” the police official said, adding that bodies of the militants along with arms and ammunition have been retrieved.
The site of the gunfight, the official said, was being thoroughly combed by forces while this report was being filed.
Local sources told Kashmir Reader that two residential houses in which militants kept changing their positions within were razed.
“The houses have been almost damaged completely,” a local said.
Meanwhile, youth today took to streets and pelted forces with stones around the site of the gunfight. “The youth tried to march towards the site of the gunfight but were dispersed by the forces who used tear smoke shells and aerial firing to do so,” said the local sources.
Two militants were killed and their identification is being ascertained. “The medico legal formalities of the killed terrorists are being done,” police said in a statement.
“Incriminating material including arms and ammunition were also recovered from the site of encounter. Police has registered a case and initiated investigation in the matter,” it added.
People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosive materials if any, police said.

Suhail A Shah