Anantnag, March 15
Four Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, all of them from Kulgam district of south Kashmir, were killed in a gunfight with security forces here this morning. The slain militants were later identified as Muzaffar Ahmad Bhat and Umar Amin Bhat of Sopat village, Sajjad Ahmad Bhat of Frisal village and Gulzar Ahmad Bhat of Tarigam.
Muzaffar, a category B militant, had been active since December 2017 while the others had joined the militant outfit last year. The gunfight took place at Watergam village of Dialgam on the outskirts of main town Anantnag.
South Kashmir DIG Atul Goel said, “We had inputs regarding militants’ presence and accordingly a cordon-and-search operation was launched last night. The militants opened fire and tried to escape from the site in the morning. They were all neutralised.”
The bodies of militants were later retrieved. “Combing operations are on and I am sure arms and ammunition will be retrieved in a huge quantity,” he added.
A police source said the militants had an underground hideout constructed beneath the floor of the washroom of a house in the area. “Further investigation will reveal for how long the hideout has been in use and the extent of involvement of the house owner in the episode,” he said.
Later in the day, bodies of the militants were handed over to their families after medico-legal formalities. Hundreds of people participated in the funeral prayers for the slain militants.
Mobile Internet services were suspended for the day in both Anantnag and Kulgam districts. Some parts of Kulgam witnessed a spontaneous shutdown. — OC
Hizb’s audio message
- Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo, alias Muhammad Bin Qasim, on Saturday released an audio message for the people of Kashmir
- The 16-minute audio message comes days after curbs on social media were lifted in the Kashmir valley