KO File Photo: Abid Bhat
Srinagar: Three militants, including a Doda native on Monday were killed in a firefight with government forces in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Acting on a specific input about the presence of militants, special operations group (SOG) of police, army’s 19 RR and CRPF laid a cordon around Khulchohar area of the district and started a search operation, a police spokesperson said. The militants hiding in the village fired upon the search party drawing retaliation from them.
“In the ensuing encounter, 3 militants were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. The identification and affiliation of the militants is being ascertained,” the police spokesperson said.
Quoting sources, the police spokesperson said that one of the dead militant was Hizbul Mujahideen district commander Masood Ahmad Bhat of Doda district. The other two, he said were associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba.
“Incriminating material including arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter. All the recovered materials have been taken into case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other crimes,” he said.
The police spokesperson said that the bodies have been sent to Handwara for their last rites after conducting medico-legal formalities including collection of their DNA.
“In case any family claims the killed militants to be their kith or kin, they can come forward for their identification and participation in last rites at Handwara. In this connection a case under relevant sections of law has been registered in Police Station Mattan and investigation has been initiated,” the police spokesperson added.
Police Declares Doda ‘Militancy Free’
Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir has become “militancy free” as the last of the surviving militants in the area was killed in an encounter with state forces in Anantnag district on Monday, police said.
“With today’s operation at Khull Chohar in Anantnag by Anantnag Police along with 19 RR, CRPF in which two LET (militants) including one district commander and one Hizbul Mujahideen commander Masood were neutralised, Doda district in Jammu Zone becomes totally militancy free once again as Masood was last surviving (militant) of Doda,” a police spokesman said.
“Masood, a resident of Doda had shifted his area of operation to Kashmir,” the spokesman added.
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