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6 militants killed in Shopian

ANANTNAG: An Army man, a civilian and six militants, three of them district commanders, were among eight persons killed on Sunday during a gunfight in Shopian’s Batgund village, 53 km south of Srinagar.

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Suhail A Shah
Anantnag, November 25

An Army man, a civilian and six militants, three of them district commanders, were among eight persons killed on Sunday during a gunfight in Shopian’s Batgund village, 53 km south of Srinagar.

More than 15 civilians were injured as security forces fired bullets, pellets and tear gas shells to quell protesters at the encounter site. 

“Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad of 34 Rashtriya Rifles, a resident of Ashmuji area in Kulgam district, was injured in the initial burst of fire. He later succumbed to his injuries,” a senior police official said. He identified the killed civilian, who had a bullet in his chest, as Noman Ashraf Bhat of Bolsoo village.

The slain militants were identified as Umar Majeed Ganaie of Kulgam (Hizb district commander); Mushtaq Ahmad Mir of Cheki Cholan, Shopian (LeT district commander); Muhammad Abbas Bhat of Mantribugh, Shopian (Hizb district commander); Muhammad Waseem Wagay of Amshipora, Shopian (Hizb) and Khalid Farooq Malik of Aliyalpora, Shopian (Hizb). 

The militants were believed to be behind the recent spate of abductions and killings in Kulgam. Hizb district commander Umar Majeed’s picture, posing in front of Ghanta Ghar in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar, had gone viral on the social media. But the police had called it “doctored”. 

The police official said material found at the encounter site indicated that one of the militants could be a Pakistani, “possibly a Lashkar operative”. 

He said a search operation was launched by a joint team around 11.30 pm on Saturday night. “After about an hour-and-a-half, the forces zeroed in on a house where the militants were hiding and were fired upon. Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad was injured. He later died.” The gunfight lasted more than six hours. Two houses were gutted.

  At the break of dawn, hundreds of residents assembled at the encounter site. The security forces opened fire, leaving more than 15 hurt, six of them with bullet injuries. 

A health official at the hospital said they had received 15 injured persons, “six with bullet wounds and nine with pellet injuries, including an 18-month-old girl”. Later in the day, the bodies of the militants, barring one, were handed over to the families.

IGP (Kashmir Range) Swayam Prakash Pani said: “We have been able to make a considerable dent in terror groups.” Two days ago, a module of six militants was eliminated at Bijbehara in South Kashmir, which included a militant wanted in the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari.

Prime accused of Lt Fayaz killing shot

One of the six militants killed in Shopian, Mohd Abbas Bhat, was the main accused in the abduction and killing of Lt Ummer Fayaz, police said. Lt Ummer, 22, was abducted from Batpora village of Shopian on May 9, 2017, where he was attending a marriage. His body was found the next morning. 

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