Srinagar, February 17: One militant was killed this evening in a fierce 11-hour gunbattle between the security forces and two ultras holed up in a house in a village in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
“The encounter at Kuchwa Muqam village of Chandoosa is over and so far body of one unidentified militant has been recovered,” Deputy Inspector General of Police, North Kashmir, Abdul Qayoom Manhas told PTI.
He said the search for the body of the other militant, also believed to be hiding in the house which was damaged during the encounter, was going on.
“It will take some more time to clear the debris,” Manhas said.
The DIG said the identity of the slain militant was being established but “We had reports that they were affiliated with Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) outfit.
Intense firing and powerful blasts rattled the village, 60 kms from here on Baramulla-Gulmarg road for the whole day.
Earlier, Senior Superintendent of Police, Baramulla, Shakeel Ahmad Beigh said the gunbattle erupted around 7 AM in the morning when Police assisted by Army zeroed in on a house where two heavily-armed militants were believed to be hiding.
The village was cordoned off late last night, the SSP said adding the militants refused to surrender and opened fire on the search parties.
The house where the ultras were hiding caught fire around 3 PM, shortly after a powerful blast which was reportedly triggered by the security forces to eliminate the militants, official sources said.
Expressing concern over the attack on the police post by militants, the All Party Migrant Coordination Committee, today demanded adequate measures by the state administration to protect the lives and properties of the minority community still living in the valley.
“The ruthless attack by militants on the police post deployed for protection of minorities has perturbed us and a sense of insecurity has gripped minority community living in the valley,” president of the committee Vinod Pandita said in a statement here.
He asked the government to take foolproof arrangements for protection of the minorities in the valley.
–PTI