Five militants, a joint group of the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), were gunned down by security forces in Shopian on Wednesday. In three combat operations in four days in the south Kashmir district, as many as 14 militants were killed.
“The encounter again showed that militants from the HM and the LeT were working together as The Resistance Front (TRF). During the operation, security forces showed the highest order of professionalism, with no collateral damage reported,” Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, told The Hindu.
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The stepped-up counter-militancy operations is putting sustained pressure on militant outfits in south Kashmir, especially in Pulwama, Kulgam and Shopian.
With 14 militants killed in Shopian’s Reban and Pinjura areas on June 7 and 8, only 27 militants remain active in the district, according to police figures. “The Hizb tops with 12 active militants in Shopian, the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) with seven, followed by the LeT with six militants, and Ansar Ghazwatul Hind with two”, the police said.
‘Successful operation’
Describing the Shopian operation as “successful”, Mr. Kumar said, “One of the militants is a ‘district commander’ of the Hizb in Shopian.”
The operation was jointly carried out by the police, the Army's 44 Rashtriya Rifles and the CRPF's 178 Battalion in Sugoo Handhama area. “Two AK47 rifles, one SLR and one pistol were recovered from the encounter spot”, the police said.
The police did not identify the slain militants’ names. However, the villagers said theymay be locals.
“All the bodies of militants have been sent to Baramulla [north Kashmir] for the last rites”, Mr. Kumar said.
