TRAL: A militant of Jaish-e-Muhammad outfit was killed and a policeman wounded in a gunfight that raged for several hours in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday, police said.
A police spokesman said that a search operation was launched in the area following “specific” inputs about the presence of militants.
“As the search operation was going on, hiding militants fired on the search party. The fire was retaliated, leading to an encounter. In the ensuing encounter, one militant was killed and his body was retrieved from the site of the encounter,” said a police spokesman.
Earlier, a top police official said that a policeman suffered a splinter injury during the gunfight which broke out after a joint search was launched in the village by Jammu & Kashmir police, army’s 42 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and 180 BN Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Authorities suspended the Internet service in police district Awantipora which includes Tral, Awantipora and Pampore areas after the gunfight broke out.
“Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were recovered from the site of encounter. From the incriminating materials recovered, it is learned that the killed slain is a Pakistani codenamed as Anwar who was affiliated with JeM outfit,” said the spokesman.
“Citizens are once again requested not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosives materials if any,” he appealed.