Three Militants, army personnel, civilian killed in Pulwama gunfight
SRINAGAR, MAY 16 (PTK): Three militants, an army personnel and a civilian have been killed during a gunfight that ensued in predawn hours in south Kashmir’s Pulwama village on Thursday.
Besides three army soldiers and a civilian were injured during the gunfight and were shifted to hospitals. The gunfight started after a joint team of government forces including army’s 55 RR and Jammu and Kashmir police cordoned off Dalipora village of Pulwama district after inputs about presence of militants in the area.
A police official said that as government forces zeroed in on the location where militants were suspected to be hiding, the militants fired upon government forces triggering a gunfight.
During the exchange of fire three militants were killed while three army personnel and a civilian were injured. The injured ans one among the injured army personnel succumbed to injuries in Army’s 92 base Srinagar hospital.
He said the bodies of slain militants have been retrieved, however, “militants were identified as Naseer Pandith of Kareemabad Pulwama, Umar Mir of Shopian and from the incriminating material recovered from the site of encounter, one militant has been identified as a Pakistani namely Khalid”.
According to the police records, the slain militants were affiliated with proscribed militant outfit JeM. “They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities. Several crime cases were registered against them,” said police spokesman.
“As per police records Naseer Pandith had a long history of terror crime records before joining the militant organization and several crime cases were registered against him for planning and executing attacks in the area after joining proscribed terror outfit JeM. He was also involved in the killing of a policeman Mohammad Yaqoob Shah of Pulwama in 2018 on the eve of Eid. He was also involved in some weapon snatching incidents reported from the area besides several cases were registered against him for his criminal activities including case FIR No 30/15 & 277/14 under NDPS Act and a case FIR No 25/16 pertaining to forgery,” he said.
Similarly, Khalid who was operating as commander of proscribed militant outfit JeM was involved in several attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities in the area. Many crime cases were registered against him. Umar Mir was also involved in several terror attacks and was part of groups responsible for attacks on security forces,” he added.
“Incriminating materials including arms & ammunition was recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror crime cases,” he said.
The injured civilian has been identified as Younis Ahmed Dar, a resident of Dalipora. As the gunfight started local youths hit the streets and pelted government forces with stones and bricks. The forces responded by firing tear smoke shells and pellets. The clashes, according to locals continued for several hours.
Meanwhile, the district authorities have imposed curfew in main town Pulwama and internet services have also been snapped as a precautionary measure.
However, witnesses said, despite curfew clashes intensified around the gunfight site and at some other places. (PTK)
