The house razed during a gunfight between militants and security forces in Pulwama district on Saturday. Tribune Photo: Amin War

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 7

Three militants were killed in a four-hour-long gunfight in Pulwama district this morning. The killings triggered protests at many places, leaving nearly a dozen persons injured.The protests prompted the authorities to suspend train services between Baramulla and Banihal and snap internet and mobile services in south Kashmir.The gunfight erupted at Panzgam in Awantipora around 2 am when a joint team of the police, Army and CRPF cordoned off three houses in the village, nearly 35 km from Srinagar, after receiving an input that militants were hiding in the area.“As a search of houses suspected of sheltering them started, the militants opened fire, triggering a gunfight. Three militants were killed in the gunfight,” said Shridhar Patil, Superintendent of Police, Awantipora.Three AK rifles were recovered from the encounter site. The slain militants were identified as Ishfaq Baba of Tahab, Ishfaq Dar of Dogripora and Haseeb Palla of Brao Badan.While Baba and Dar were associated with the Hizbul Mujahideen, Palla was a member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. The house where the militants were hiding was razed during the gunfight.The two Hizb men, both “category A” militants, had been active since 2014 and were involved in many incidents of violence. Patil said one Hizb militant was an accused in two cases of murder.They were close associates of 21-year-old Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, who had been spearheading the social media campaign of young militants. Palla had joined militancy last year.As news about the killing of militants spread, villagers thronged the encounter site. A 17-year-old boy was wounded after an unexploded grenade went off at the site. He was rushed to a hospital.Clashes broke out in Tahab as people came out on the streets, throwing stones at police and CRPF personnel. Youths threw stones at the CRPF camp and the clashes continued for almost three hours.The police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd. Nearly a dozen civilians and policemen were injured in the clashes. A shutdown was observed in the district.Before the encounter in Pulwama today, a total of 34 militants had been killed by security forces in various anti-militancy operations.

Teen hurt in blast

• As news about the killing of militants in Panzgam village of Pulwama spread, villagers thronged the encounter site. A 17-year-old boy was wounded after an unexploded grenade went off at the site. He was rushed to a hospital
• Two of the slain militants belonged to the hizbul Mujahideen and the third to the Lashkar