Anantnag: An “unidentified” militant has been killed in an ongoing gunfight between militants and government forces here in Kulgam district of south Kashmir, police have said.
“The operation is going on. So far an unidentified militant has been killed in the gunfight,” a senior police official said, adding that the gunfight was going on in Aharbal area of Kulgam district.
Sources in the police, however, told Kashmir Reader that the slain militant was a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and a resident of Shopian district. “The slain militant is believed to be a resident of Shopian district,” a police source said while identifying the militant as Amir Hussain Mir, son of Muhammad Yousuf Mir, a resident of Chek Cholan village in Shopian district.
Hussain was one of the longest surviving militants in recent times, having joined the militant outfit in 2017. “Confirmation of the identity will only be given out after the operation is concluded,” the source said.
Police have said that there were specific inputs regarding the presence of militants in the forest area of Kungwatan in the Aharbal area of Kulgam district. “The area was cordoned off following the inputs and soon after contact was established with the militants,” the police official from Kulgam said.
He said that one of the militants had been killed in the initial gunfight while there were inputs regarding the presence of three to four more militants in the area. “The operation has been suspended for now owing to the darkness and will be resumed in wee hours,” the official said.
This is the second gunfight in Kulgam district in 24 hours. A militant was killed early Sunday morning in a gunfight in the Yaripora area of Kulgam.

Suhail A Shah