 Early Times Report
Srinagar, Aug 29: Four policemen were martyred in an attack by terrorists in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday just hours after security forces gunned down two militants, including a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, in an encounter in Anantnag district.
"Terrorists in the afternoon fired indiscriminately upon a police party at Arhama in district Shopian. Four policemen sustained gunshot wounds and were evacuated to a nearby hospital for medical attention," a police spokesman said.
All the four injured succumbed to injuries, he added. "The martyred policemen were identified as Constable Ishfaq Ahmad Mir, Constable Javaid Ahmad Bhat, Constable Mohammad Iqbal Mir and SPO Adil Manzoor Bhat," he said adding a case was registered and investigations initiated in the matter. The deceased were part of the security detail of an officer and had gone to get a police vehicle repaired when the attack took place, an official said.
The incident came hours after security forces killed two militants of Hizbul Mujahideen including a top commander, Altaf Ahmad Dar alias Kachroo, in a gun battle at Muniward in Anantnag district.
Giving details, a spokesman of the police said that based on a specific intelligence, Jammu and Kashmir Police along with other security forces launched a search operation at Muniward village of Khanabal area in the district at the crack of the dawn.
"During the searches, terrorists fired on the search party, which was retaliated, leading to an encounter and in the ensuing encounter two terrorists were eliminated. The killed terrorists were identified as Altaf Ahmad Dar alias Ataf Kachru alias Moin of Hawoora Mishipora and Omar Rashid Wani of Khudwani Kulgam," the spokesman said. He said Dar, who also hails from Kulgam in South Kashmir, was currently operating as a one of the most important terrorist commanders of proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen and had a long history of criminal records since 2007.
"It was a specific operation carried out swiftly by the security forces. In the action both terrorists, who were involved in several cases of civilian atrocities and attacks on policemen, were eliminated," Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range) Swayam Prakash Pani said here.
Considered as a long-time surviving terrorist in the area, Dar was involved in series of terror incidents in the area, which included attacks on security forces and killings of civilians and policemen in South Kashmir.
One of the police officials, who was involved in the operation, described him as a 'chief architect' of attacks on policemen.
The police spokesman also said that Dar along with his associate Yasin Itoo played a major role in instigating people during 2016 unrest which was sparked after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani.
The other militant killed in the encounter was Omar Rashid Wani, who had become active since last year.
The spokesman said he was involved in many civilian atrocities and attacks on security establishments. Wani was also involved in killing of policemen at Anantnag and recently he had carried out an attack on the CRPF in Srinagar and managed to give a slip during the recent Batmaloo encounter site. The spokesman said though the two were part of the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group, they managed to keep close coordination with other outfit for unleashing terror. |
