SHOPIAN: Two militants and a civilian were killed while 123 civilian protesters and two soldiers were injured on Tuesday in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Shopian district.
The father of one of the local militants died of cardiac arrest after rumors that his son was trapped in the house surrounded by the forces.
A police official confirmed that two militants were killed in the gunfight that raged for several hours in Kundalan village of the district. He identified one of the slain as Sameer Ahmad Sheikh of Ayand Rawalpora area of the district.
He said the other one was believed to be a foreigner.
The gunfight that raged for several hours in Kundalan village broke out today morning after forces cordoned off the area.
Reports said that youth took to streets and clashes with the forces to disrupt the anti-militant operation. As civilians poured out of their homes and clashed with the forces during the fighting, forces fired live ammunition, tear gas and pellets to chase them away, leading to 123 injuries.
A doctor at district hospital Shopian said four civilians were referred to Srinagar for specialized treatment.
One of the injured, identified as Tamsheel Ahmad Khan of Vehil Shopian, succumbed at SMHS hospital.
A top health official said that 123 civilians were injured in the clashes. He said they were treated at different hospitals in the area. “Six among them had bullet injuries while 17 others had pellet injuries in their eyes,” he said.
Two soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer, injured in the initial gunfight were shifted to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar.
Muhammad Ishaq Naikoo, the father of Zeenat, who had just joined the militant ranks, was declared dead on arrival at a hospital. Naikoo suffered cardiac arrest.