Six militants killed in two overnight encounters in south Kashmir

On Wednesday evening, a joint team of J-K Police, Army and paramilitary forces cordoned off Nowgam village in Dooru Shahabad in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the village.

As the joint team of forces was tightening the cordon, the militants hiding in the village opened indiscriminate fire and tried to break the security cordon. In the initial burst of gunfire from the militants, a policeman and two soldiers were injured.

The militants, however, failed to break the cordon resulting in an exchange of fire. The gunfight ended with the killing of three militants.

While the gunfight in Nowgam was ongoing, another gun battle raged in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district after a joint team of forces cordoned off Mirhama village following inputs about the presence of militants.

As the joint team of forces was zeroing in on the target, militants opened fire. Police said that three militants were killed after the forces fired in return.

Over the last week, south Kashmir has seen a sudden surge in military operations against the militants leading to gunfights. On Sunday, five militants were killed in three separate gunfights in south Kashmir’s Shopian, Pulwama and Anantnag districts. Police sources attribute the increasing gunfights to changing weather and snow in the upper reaches of the valley.

“Usually, there is an increase in the gunfights at this point of the year,” said a senior police officer. “As it snows in the higher reaches and the temperature plummets, the militants abandon their hideouts in forests for the winters and return to the villages. This leads to more information gathering and more gunfights. “