Anantnag: Two to three militants are believed to be trapped in a residential house, fighting government forces, along the NH-44 here in Mirbazar area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam police district.
The militants took shelter in the house after attacking a Border Security Force (BSF) convoy along the national highway NH-44. Police have maintained that there was no loss of life or injuries in the attack.
“Terrorists fired at a BSF convoy at the national highway in Kulgam. No injury was reported. The terrorists have however been trapped and reinforcement has been rushed,” Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said.
The attack was carried out by the militants at about 2:45 PM Thursday afternoon. “The militants opened indiscriminate fire on the convoy and tried to escape after firing,” a senior police official from the area said.
He said that the militants, unable to escape, took shelter in a house which was cordoned off by government forces soon after. “The militants opened fire from the house. The fire was retaliated, triggering a gunfight,” the police official said.
He said that two to three militants were holed up in the three-storey concrete house, located along the NH-44. At the time this report was being filed, local sources told Kashmir Reader that firing was going on intermittently.
“Traffic on NH-44 has been put to a halt given the proximity of the encounter site to the road,” the local sources said.
Mirbazar is a village ahead of Qazigund and falls within the jurisdiction of revenue district Anantnag and police district Kulgam. Authorities from both districts were monitoring the operation in the evening.
Also, there were reports that a CRPF man received a gunshot wound during the encounter but there was no official confirmation of the injury.
Police in a tweet said that 2 security forces personnel and 2 civilians were injured from militants’ fire.
“Two trapped (militants) of LeT still alive. Exchange of fire on. 2 SFs personnel & 2 civilians injured from (militants) fire. Taking all precautions for lesser collateral damage as target building is huge one,” IGP Kashmir said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, a top police officer told news agency GNS that “the operation may prolong”.
Official sources told news agency GNS that two civilians Sahil Yaqoob Bhat (25) son of Mohammad Yaqoob Bhat of Dantar Anantnag and Shahid Farooq Sheikh (22) son of Farooq Ahmed Sheikh of Larm Kulgam suffered injuries in the lower abdomen and right thigh, respectively, at the encounter site.
One of the two security forces personnel injured in the initial phase of the gunfight was iIdentified as Umesh Singh, son of Prabu Singh of Jharkhand. He along with another trooper whose identity was not immediately known have been hospitalised.
IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar and General Officer Commanding of Victor Force, Major General Rashim Bali have reached Mirbazar and were supervising the operation at the spot.
Earlier police in a tweet said: “(Militants) fired upon BSF convoy at NHW Kulgam. No injury reported. However, (militants) trapped. EOF on. Reinforcement reached. Senior officers of Police, CRPF & Army on the spot: IGP Kashmir.”
—With agency inputs

Suhail A Shah