2 LeT men, constable killed in back-to-back encounters in Kulgam, Kathua

The head constable killed in Kathua was identified as Bashir Ahmad, said police sources. The terrorists opened fire on a joint search party of police and security forces in Khog area, near Billawar.

Three to four terrorists are still believed trapped inside a structure in a forested area there, sources said, adding that reinforcements have been deployed.

The Army posted on X that the operation was launched in the general area of Dhanu Parole in Kathua. “Contact established and Operations in progress,” the post said.

Security personnel stand guard along the Bani-Billawar road after an encounter between security forces and terrorists, in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (PTI Photo)

The back-to-back encounters come three days ahead of the third and final phase of Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The Billawar constituency, too, votes on October 1. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was scheduled to address a rally here on Saturday morning, but her helicopter could not land due to bad weather.

In Kulgam, at around 6.30 am, the J&K Police, the Army’s 9 Rashtriya Rifles and the 163 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force cordoned off Adigam village after receiving inputs about the presence of terrorists.

As the team closed in, the LeT men opened fire and tried to break through the cordon. In the initial burst of intense fire, the senior police officer and four soldiers were injured. Police sources said the officer, a Superintendent of Police, received superficial injuries and is stable.

“For the last month, the Army and police were after this group that was active in Kulgam,” Brigadier Anirudh Chauhan told reporters. “In my opinion, it is a big setback to the Lashkar-e-Taiba… It will take them time to emerge from this shock.”

Javid Iqbal, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) for South Kashmir, said the gunfight lasted for 12 hours and two bodies have been recovered.

“It is difficult to identify them and investigations are going on. We have taken DNA samples,” said the DIG.

“However, as per the inputs that we had received about the two terrorists, one among them was Omais Ahmad Wani of Chawalgam village (of Kulgam district). He was with ‘The Resistance Front’, a shadow group of Lashkar, since 2020 and was active in Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts. There are several FIRs registered against him. The second, as per information, is Aqib Nazir Shergojri, a resident of Chadoora (in central Kashmir’s Budgam district). He has been active in the terrorist organisation since 2022.”

DIG Iqbal said they have seized two AK rifles, a pistol and some ammunition from the slain terrorists.

Forty seats — 24 in Jammu and 16 in Kashmir — are going to the polls in the third, and largest, phase of these Assembly elections.