Srinagar: A senior police officer and a soldier were martyred in a fierce encounter in which three Jais-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were killed on Sunday in Kulgam district of south Kashmir.
According to a senior police official, a joint operation by security forces comprising the Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police was launched following a tip off about the presence of some terrorists in Turigam village of Kulgam district.
As the security cordon was tightened, the hiding terrorists fired to break the cordon and escape but since all the possible escape routes were sealed, the gunfight intensified.
“Finally the firing from the house where the terrorists were hiding stopped, giving an indication that the holed up terrorists have been neutralised,” said the police official.
He said that Deputy Superintendent of Police Aman Thakur was martyred after being shot in the head during the initial stages of gunfight.
The injured police officer was shifted to a local hospital were doctors declared him dead, added the police official.
He said that in the day-long encounter, three terrorists hiding in the village were killed. “Though the firing has stopped, searches are on at the encounter site,” further said the police official.
Besides the martyrdom of Dy SP in the gunfight, three soldiers, including two Majors, were also injured and were immediately shifted to a hospital.
The police official said that as the encounter was on, locals came out of their homes in a bid to disrupt the operations by pelting stones at the security forces.
The security forces used tear smoke to disperse the protesters in which a few of the locals sustained injuries.
Sources said that all three slain terrorists belonged to Pakistan-based terror outfit JeM and their identity was being established.