2 Lashkar militants, civilian killed in Pulwama encounter
9 March 2017 11:32 PM IST
Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants and a civilian were killed during a nine-hour gunbattle between the ultras and the security forces in Awantipora area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Thursday.
The encounter broke out in Padgampora village after security forces launched a cordon and search operation at around 2.30 am following information about presence of militants there, a police official said.
The militants, holed up in two adjacent houses, opened fire at security personnel at around 4.40 am and the troops retaliated, triggering a fierce gunbattle which lasted nine hours. The security officials had brought the mother of one of the militants to the site to persuade him to surrender but he refused, he said.
The slain ultras were affiliated to LeT outfit and have been identified as Jehangir Ganai and Mohammad Shafi Shergujri, the official said.
A 15-year-old civilian –Amir Nazir Wani – was also killed after he suffered a bullet wound in the neck during the cross-firing, he said.
While local residents claimed security forces fired at the protesters near the encounter site, leading to Wani's death, police officials said the teenager was fatally injured by a "stray bullet".
Another youth – Sajad Ahmad Bhat – was injured after he was hit by a bullet in the hip.
Pakistan violates Poonch ceasefire; Jawan martyred
An army jawan was killed on Thursday when Pakistani troops violated ceasefire in Poonch sector in Jammu region. Pakistani troops opened fire at Indian posts around 1400 hours at Gulpur area which was effectively retaliated by the army. The sources said that in the firing from across the border, sepoy Deepak Jaganath suffered a bullet injury in the head. He was shifted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. In another case, an army jawan was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Daraba in Poonch sector.
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