Srinagar , May 18
Three militants affiliated with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit were killed in a pre-dawn encounter with security forces at Panzgam area of south Kashmir’s volatile Pulwama district on Saturday.
A police official said on a credible input about the presence of militants in Panzgam, Pulwama, 28 kms from here, a cordon-and-search-operation (CASO) was launched by the army’s 55-Rashtriya Rifles and special operations group of Jammu and Kashmir police during wee hours of Saturday.
He said the gunfight began after the militants fired upon the search party. “In the retaliatory action, three militants were killed,” he said.
The slain militants were identified as Showkat Dar of Panzgam, who was active since September 2016 and newly recruited Irfan Ahmad from northern Sopore. However, the identity of the third ultras was ascertained immediately.
In the wake of the killing of the militants, the authorities suspended Internet services in Pulwama, a common government practice, aimed to calm tensions and prevent anti-India demonstrations from being organized.
The latest encounter came just two days after five militants, two soldiers and two civilians were killed in two separate gunfights in Pulwama and neighbouring Shopian districts. There has been a spurt in encounters between security forces and ultras after the Lok Sabha polls ended in the state on May 6.
According to official figures 88 militants have been killed this year while the number was 272 in 2018. Post February 14 Pulwama fidayeen (suicide) attack, 56 militants have been killed, of them 25 belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit.
Pulwama and neighbouring Shopian districts have been the primary focus of the security forces this year so far as out of total 88 militants killed across the Valley, 51 were killed in these twin districts alone in 23 encounters, official data reveals.
Meanwhile, militants on Saturday morning managed to escape after brief exchange of fire in Dehruna village of Anantnag district. An official confirmed that militants managed to escape in Dehruna and operation has been called off.
Earlier, a joint team of forces including Army’s 19 RR cordoned off Dehruna following ‘specific information’ about the presence of some militants in the area. As the forces intensified the searches, the hiding militants opened fire, leading to an encounter, a police official said.
However, during initial exchange of fire, militants managed to break the cordon and escaped from the spot, he said, adding that after initial exchange, cordon was extended to nearby villages. However, the operation after finding no militant there was called off.
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