| Four terrorists , including a Pakistani, killed by security forces in Srinagar, Kulgam | | ‘They even refused their parents’ appeals to surrender’ | |  Early Times Report
Srinagar, June 21: Four terrorists , including a Pakistani national, were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir’’s Srinagar and Kulgam districts during the past 24 hours, a senior police official said on Sunday.
Among the slain terrorists was Shakoor Farooq Langoo who, according to police records, was involved in the killing of two BSF personnel in Soura area on May 20 this year.
An AK rifle snatched from one of the BSF jawans was recovered from the site of the encounter.
Acting on a specific input regarding the presence of militants in Zoonimar area of district Srinagar, a cordon and search operation was launched jointly by police and CRPF, the official said.
During the operation on late Saturday night, Superintendent of Police of the task force, Tahir Bhatti, made repeated appeals to the terrorists to lay down their arms and surrender. “The terrorists were cornered during the night and the first task was to rescue civilians. We successfully managed to pull out the house owner and people from nearby houses,” a senior police officer said on the condition of anonymity.
During the encounter, which took place at Zoonimar in the Zadibal area of downtown Srinagar, senior officers located the parents of the terrorists and brought them near the site to appeal to them to surrender. “Your mother is suffering from a heart ailment. Come out and surrender. They will help you,” the uncle of one of the terrorists said, while the mother of one of the militants, with tears in her eyes, urged her son to lay down his arms.
The owner of the house, where they were hiding, also made appeals to them to surrender. “I don’t have money, please come out. I can’t make the house again. My daughter is getting married soon. I will not be able to bear this loss,” the owner of the house was heard saying.
Bhatti, while talking to the parents of one of the holed up terrorists, requested them to bring him out with love and assured that “no harm will come to them”. “We have been trying for the past 10 hours and the purpose why you have been called here is to make an appeal with love and care so that he is saved,” Bhatti was heard telling the sobbing parents.
However, repeated appeals were responded to by gunshots and police had to launch a final onslaught. They stormed the house and killed the terrorists.
The official said in the ensuing gunfight, three militants were killed and their bodies retrieved from the site of the encounter. “Two of the slain terrorists have been identified as Shakoor Farooq Langoo from Barthana in Srinagar and Shahid Ahmad Bhat of Semthan in Bijbehara. The identification of the other slain terrorist is yet to be ascertained,” he said.
Mobile internet services have been suspended in view of the operation.
The official said the three slain militants were affiliated to proscribed terror outfits Hizbul Mujahideen and Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir.
Security force have eliminated 31 militants in June while 105 ultras have been been killed this year so far.
The official said the Srinagar operation came within 24 hours of the killing of a Jaish-e-Mohammad militant in Kulgam district on Saturday.
“The killed terrorist was identified as Tayab Waleed @ Imran Bhai @ Gazi Baba, a Pakistani national affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM,” he added.
According to police records, the slain ultra was an “operational commander” of the JeM and an expert in making IEDs besides being a sharpshooter.
“Kashmir IG Vijay Kumar said, “Since they were local terrorists, we asked some prominent people to appeal to the three terrorists to surrender but they didn’t budge and threw a hand grenade instead and were killed in the ensuing gun battle.”
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