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Journalism of Courage
The Army on Friday claimed it had achieved a major breakthrough by killing five top Hizbul Mujahideen militants in central Kashmirs Ganderbal district.
The Army said all slain militants were foreigners. One among them was identified as Assadullah alias Qari Assadullah,the District commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen. The other militants have been identified as Zubair,Javid,Fazal Umar and Hilal.
Though the terror organisation usually comprises local cadres,this group was headed by Qari Assadullah,a resident of the North Western Frontier Province of Pakistan. Police sources said the operation has wiped out the group from the area.
Defence spokesman Naresh Vij told The Indian Express that a joint operation was launched by the Armys 24 Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operation Group of the police at Najwan forest near Preng late Thursday night. The army received a specific intelligence input about the presence of militants in the forest area,so the search operation was launched, he said.
Vij said contact with the group was first established around midnight,when two militants were gunned down by the assault parties. The encounter lasted till morning and ended with the killing of three more militants. Five AK rifles along with other arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site, he said.
The Army said the group was known as the Qari Assadullah group in the area and was active since last year. The group was under surveillance by intelligence agencies since it had been planning to carry out major attacks. It was already moving around Ganderbal and Kangan areas and had established some local bases.
The bodies of the five militants were handed to the police for burial.
Last week,the Army claimed to have killed 28 militants,majority of them on the Line of Control,in North Kashmir after militants targeted an army convoy in Hyderpora,killing eight soldiers.
An encounter just for the TV cameras
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
SRINAGAR,AUGUST 30
After killing five militants late Thursday night,the Army on Friday allegedly reenacted the encounter for news channels that had missed the action.
Reporters who visited the area and locals present at the scene said the Army fired randomly in a nearby forest after a few reporters requested them to enact the gunfight. The Army fired randomly for some news channels so they could pass it off as a live encounter, said an eyewitness.
Reporters and cameramen of four Indian news channels were taken to a nearby willow field adjacent to Wusan Camp of 24 Rashtriya Rifles. Labourers who were extracting sand from Sindh river were ordered to leave so the Army could fire some shots, a local reporter said.
When contacted,defence spokesperson NC Vij said,No such incident took place.
