‘78 militants, 26 of them Pakistanis, killed in 50 gunfights this year’

Srinagar: Three Pakistani militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, who had recently infiltrated into Kashmir, were killed Thursday morning in a gunfight with government forces in the frontier Kupwara district, police said. An army porter identified as Lateef Mir son of Majeed Mir resident of Kuchiban Jummagund, was also killed in the firefight.
The gunfight was the second such in less than twenty-four hours in the north Kashmir region. Three Pakistani militants were killed in a gunfight on Wednesday in Baramulla district, where a policeman was also killed.
“The militants killed this morning are yet to be identified, given that they had just infiltrated,” a police source from the Kupwara district said, adding that the bodies have been retrieved along with arms, ammunition, and some incriminating material.
“We have managed to neutralise 26 Pakistani militants this year, thus far,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said, adding, “14 of the slain have been from Jaish-e-Muhammad and 12 from Lashkar-e-Toiba.”
He said that as many as fifty gunfights have taken place in the year so far, leading to the killing of 78 militants.
The gunfight today took place in Jumagund village of Kupwara district, early morning. Police have said that they generated inputs regarding an infiltration bid, following which the operation was launched.
“The militants were intercepted in the Jumagund village. They opened indiscriminate fire as they were surrounded,” a senior police official from the area said.
He said that the fire was retaliated and all the three militants were neutralised. “Bodies have been retrieved and will be sent to an undisclosed location for burial,” the official said.
Authorities have been burying the militants on their own, regardless of whether they are foreigners or locals, since April 2020. Initially, the authorities cited Covid protocol for the decision and have stuck to the practice since. In the case of local militants, some close family members are allowed to witness the burial, mostly in Baramulla district of north Kashmir.
Violence has again flared in the Kashmir region, as unidentified gunmen have been targeting civilians, policemen on leave, and members of the minority community. The last few days have been particularly restive, with two gunfights and two killings.
A policeman was shot at and killed in Soura area of Srinagar on Tuesday, while his 8-year-old daughter was injured in the attack. In a similar attack on Wednesday evening, a social media influencer was shot dead, and her 10-year-old nephew was injured, by unidentified gunmen in Budgam district of central Kashmir.
It has not been long since a Kashmiri Pandit employee of the revenue department was shot at and killed inside his office in Chadoora area of Budgam district.

Suhail A Shah