Srinagar: In the first such incident in the past two decades, terrorists exchanged fire with security forces in the dense forests of the Zabarwan range here on Sunday, forcing residents to flee in panic as additional forces were mobilised to strengthen the cordon.
The encounter in the vicinity of Nishat on the banks of the Dal Lake comes close on the heels of a day-long encounter in the Khanyar locality of downtown Srinagar early this month which left a top Pakistani commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) dead. The encounter in Zabarwan lasted several hours before the guns fell silent but the terrorists managed to flee taking advantage of the thick foliage. However, the search for the fleeing terrorists was continuing when the last reports were received, the officials said.
Eyewitnesses said that the forest area resonated with gunshots shortly after a contingent of Army, police and CRPF personnel appeared there and launched a search operation around 9 am.
The forested area has a cluster of over a dozen houses and many residents fled the locality due to panic. This forest area serves the locals in grazing their cattle and also womenfolk bring firewood from the woods to save themselves from the bone-chilling winter of Kashmir.
“I heard a few gunshots in the morning but I did not know it was happening in the neighbourhood. I have been living here for the past two decades and never witnessed such an incident,” Abdul Khaliq, a local resident, said.
Encounter Rattles In Zabarwan Hills
