Three among slain militants include mastermind of 2017 Lethpora attack; Curfew imposed in town amid clashes; Internet snapped
Srinagar, May 16: Three militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad, soldier and a civilian were killed and three persons including two armymen were injured in an encounter with militants in Dalipora area of Pulwama district in south Kashmir on Thursday.
A police officer said that in the initial phase of encounter three soldiers and two brothers Mohd Younis Dar and Rayees Ahmad Dar sons of Jalal Ud Din Dar sustained injuries.
While Rayees died on the spot, his brother Younis was immediately taken to nearby hospital where from he was referred to Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment, the officer said.
The officer said that the soldiers were airlifted to army’s 92 base hospital Badamibagh Srinagar where one of them namely Sandeep Kumar succumbed to injuries.
He identified the injured soldiers as Sepoy Arunesh GSW and Sepoy Ravindar GSW.
During the course of gunfight all the three militants were killed and their bodies along with as many weapons and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the site, he said.
The officer identified the slain militants as Naseer Pandith of Karmibad Pulwama, Umar Mir of Bethipora Shopian and Khalid Bhai from Pakistan. The slain trio were affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammad militant outfit.
The officer said that Khalid was active since last eight years in Kashmir and termed his killing as a major success.
Khalid, the top commander of the JeM outfit was wanted in the 2017 fidayeen attack on a CRPF camp in Lethpora that left five paramilitary personnel dead.
He said that Khalid was mastermind of the attack.
The officer said that the encounter started after militants beleived to be three in number, fired upon a joint team of police and army while a cordon-and-search operation was going on in the Dalipora village.
The cordon was launched after credible inputs about the presence of the militants. The authorities have also imposed curfew in the town following clashes.
Meanwhile, the internet services have also been suspended in the southern district.
