Anantnag: Four militants were killed and one militant captured alive in two separate encounters with government forces in south Kashmir’s Kulgam and Pulwama districts on Saturday.
In the first encounter which broke out in Kulgam last night, two militants affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad were killed in Frisal area of the district whereas another two including top Lashkr-e-Toiba commander Zahid Nazir were slain in an orchard in Dadura area of Pulwama on Saturday afternoon.
In Kulgam gunfight, government forces claimed to have retrieved an M-4 assault rifle and a pistol from the possession of the slain. Among the killed was a local militant identified as Tariq Ahmad Mir of Zangalpora village in Kulgam district. The second militant has been identified Sameer bhai @Usman of Pakistan, police said.
“He (Tariq Mir) had joined the outfit in May this year and had been active ever since,” a police source told Kashmir Reader.
Bodies of the militants would be taken for burial to Handwara as has been the norm for a while now. “Medico legal formalities have been completed and the bodies have been sent for burial,” the police source said.
According to police, nearest family members of the slain militant would be allowed to participate in the last rites.
The gunfight broke out in Chingam village of Frisal at about midnight on Friday. A senior police official from Kulgam said that the forces were following leads about the movement of these militants, “Which we believed were three in number”.
“They were tracked down to a residential house in Chingam and a cordon and search operation was launched in the area late Friday night,” the official said, adding that the militants, in a bid to flee opened indiscriminate fire soon after the CASO was launched.
The official said that the militants hurled grenades and fired indiscriminately while they came out of the house they were holed up in. “They however could not breach the cordon detail and were gunned down outside the house,” he added.
The forces retrieved two bodies on spot and continued the operation in search of the third militant, the official said.
“The operation was called off this morning for the combing operation in the area yielded nothing further. The bodies of the two militants have been retrieved along with the M4 rifle and a pistol,” he said.
Meanwhile, the mobile internet services were snapped across Kulgam district soon after the first shots were fired in Chingam. The service was yet to be restored till the report was being filed.
Security was also beefed up in Kulgam district to prevent any law and order situation. There, however, were no protests reported from anywhere in the district.
In another encounter that broke out in Pulwama, two militants were slain and one was captured alive on Saturday afternoon.
One among them was identified by police as top Laskar-e-Toiba commander Zahid Nazir Bhat alias Zahid Tiger.
The identity of other militants was yet to be ascertained when this report was being filed. “Their bodies along with the weapons have been retrieved from the site of the gunfight,” the source added.
The gunfight was reported from an orchard area in Dadura area of Pulwama district. a senior police official said that the militants were surrounded soon after a tip off about their presence in the area.
“They were asked to lay down their arms and surrender but they opened fire instead. The fire was retaliated and in a brief exchange the two of them were killed,” the officials said.
He said that the area was combed and operation was called off after no further presence of militants was found in the area. “The bodies have been sent for medico-legal formalities while the weapons and some incriminating material has been confiscated,” he added.
“Police & SFs have done a commendable work by arresting a newly joined militant along with arms & ammunition during live encounter today at Pulwama,” police said on Twitter. He was identified as Firdous Ahmad Tak son of Abdul Gani Tak of Doda.

Suhail A Shah