Baramulla: Two militants were killed in a day-long gunfight with government forces in Wanigam area of Pattan in north Kashmir’s Baramulla on Thursday.
Police said that following a tip about presence of a group of militants in Wanigam Payeen, teams of police, army’s 29 RR, and paramilitary CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in the area on Thursday morning.
They said that as the government forces reached near the suspected spot, militants opened fire. After a brief gunfight, the militants hid in a residential house and stopped their fire to dodge the forces. However, the forces zeroed in on the house and surrounded it.
The operation continued through the day and by late evening two militants had been killed.
Eyewitnesses said that the government forces fired dozens of UBGL shells into the house due to which the house was completely damaged. Later, two militants emerged from the debris and tried to break the cordon but were killed in retaliatory firing by the government forces.
The police had not yet identified the slain militants, however sources identified the duo as Abrar Ahmad alias Langoo, a Pakistani national, and his associate Amir Ahmad Siraj, a resident of Sopore who had gone missing on 24th June and was associated with Jaish-e-Mihammad (JeM) militant outfit.
Abrar was said to be a top-level commander of JeM and in the A++ category. He gave the slip to government twice in the past.
Amir was said to be a top footballer of the area before he joined militant ranks.
The locals said that the operation was still continuing at the time this report was filed. Government forces were in the process of recovering the bodies and firearms from the site.

Reader correspondent