Three militants were killed and as many soldiers injured in a day-long gunfight in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday, even as several civilians were injured in ensuing clashes.
A top police officer told media that three militants were killed in the gunfight that broke out today morning after a joint party of the army, police and the SOG launched a search operation in a forest area in Gulshanpora.
An army soldier, identified as Sepoy Nehminlan Haokip of 42 RR, was seriously injured in the firefight and is going under treatment. Two other soldiers were also wounded in the gunfight.
News agency GNS reported that the injured were taken to army’s 92 base hospital Srinagar where from one critically wounded soldier was airlifted to army’s command hospital Udhampur for advanced treatment, it said while quoting an official.
A police spokesman identified the slain as Shakoor Ahmad Parray @Jaffar, son of Ghulam Nabi Parray resident of Laribal Tral, Tawseef Ahmad Thoker @Abu Talha son of Ghulam Mohi-ud-deen Thoker and Zubair Ahmad Bhat @Abu Huraira son of Bashir Ahmad Bhat – both residents of Chursoo Awantipora.
He said the slain were part of a combined group of JeM and HM. “As per police records, Zubair was affiliated with proscribed outfit JeM while Adfar and Tawseef were affiliated with proscribed outfit HM,” he said, in a statement.
Clashes
Eye witnesses said that youth took to streets and staged protests near bus stand Tral and Batgund area soon after the gunfight broke out. At least six protesters were injured after forces fired pellets to break up the protests.
Authorities suspended the mobile Internet service in the area soon after the gunfight ensued.
