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| LeT commander killed in Chadoora encounter | | Militants give slip to forces in Tral | | Mustansir
Srinagar, Dec 26: 12 hour long gunfight between militants and security forces ended here today morning with the killing of a LeT militant.
However, the identity of the slain militant has been disputed as the police identified him as Pakistani while locals claim the deceased was a local militant hailing from Kakapora town in South Kashmir's Pulwama district.
A joint team of police and security forces had on Wednesday laid a cordon around the village Hufroo in Chadoora tehsil of Budgam district in Central Kashmir after receiving intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area.
A Police spokesperson said as the forces started the search operations, the militants hiding in a house in the village opened fire, following which the forces retaliated and the intermittent firing continued during the night and a fierce gunfight started in the morning resulting in the killing of the LeT militant.
He identified the slain militant as Umar Bilal from Pakistan- occupied Kashmir, however, the locals opposed the police claim saying the slain militant hails from Kakapora village in Pulwama district.
"A Pakistani militant was killed in the encounter with forces in Hufroo, village of Chadoora area in district Budgam," police said.
Police added that a joint team of 53 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operation Group (SOG) Chadoora killed one foreign militant in a gun battle which started Wednesday evening.
Police sources said that the deceased militant Omar Bilal was involved in the killing of Station House Officer (SHO) of Chadoora, Sub-Inspector Shabir Ahmad. Counter-insurgent, SHO was killed in a militant attack on December 2 in Chadoora.
However, people in Kakapora village claimed that the deceased was not 'a foreign militant' as claimed by police but a resident of the town. They identified the slain militant as Bilal Ahmad.
Eyewitnesses said that soon after the Hufroo encounter ended with the killing of a militant, people in Kakapora village in south Kashmir came on roads and demanded return of the body.
The police spokesperson said that when today morning firing stopped from the militant side, after the residential house in which he was hiding was razed to ground, forces recovered one body from the debris.
The house was damaged in the gunfight and the body of the militant was recovered from under the debris, he said. An AK-47 assault rifle and some ammunition were recovered from the debris, the spokesman said.
As reported earlier the search operation was launched following the arrest of a local LeT operative Latief Ahmad Rather on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, militants reportedly seven to eight in number, today managed to give slip to security forces in Gadpora area of south Kashmir's Tral township, sources said.
They said the forces cordoned off the village where the militants were holed up in a house. "The area was cordoned off around 3 am. At 6 am there was exchange of firing which continued for almost two hours," sources said. "However, it was later learnt that the militants have managed to flee from the spot."
A police official, who wished anonymity, said, "only three to four militants were holed up and the search to locate them is on." |
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