Army soldier, 6 militants killed in gunfight in Shopian district of J&K

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 25

An Army soldier and six militants were killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday, officials said.

A civilian was also killed, while over a dozen were injured in clashes that broke out at the encounter site following the gunfight, the officials said.

The slain soldier has been identified as Lance Naik Nazir Ahmad Wani (38) of Cheki Ashmuji village in Kulgam.

The gunfight broke at Kapran village of Shopian around 1.30 am when a joint team of the police, Army and CRPF were carrying a cordon and search operation after a specific input about the presence of militants in the area.

“As the forces zeroed in on the suspected area, the militants opened fire, triggering a gunfight. In the gunfight that followed, one Army soldier and six militants were killed,” a police officer said.

This is the second major encounter in south Kashmir since Friday. On November 23, six local militants, including a top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander accused of murdering top journalist Shujaat Bukhari in June this year, were killed in a gunfight in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district.

The six militants have been identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, alias Hammad, district commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba for Shopian; Mohammad Abass Bhatt of Cheki Mantribugh Shopian; Umar Majeed, alias Maaz, alias Abu Hanzalla, of Souch Kulgam; and district commanders of Hizbul Mujaideen for Shopian and Kulgam, respectively, Mohammad Waseem Wagay, alias Saifullah, of Amshipora, Khalid Farooq Malik, alias Rafi, of Aliyalpora, Shopian.

One militant is suspected to be a Pakistani.

An unverified picture of militant commander Umar Majeed had surfaced on social media recently walking around Lal Chowk, the heart of Srinagar.

J&K Police said slain militant Abbas Bhat was wanted in the killing of Lt Ummar Fayaz.

Lt Fayaz was abducted by militants from Batpora village of Shopian on the evening of May 9, 2017, where he was attending the marriage ceremony of a cousin. His bullet-riddled body was found the next morning in an orchard.