Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Srinagar Feb 19 (KINS): Three policemen, three militants were killed on Friday in various gunfights between militants and security forces in Kashmir.
Security forces started cordon and search operation in the Beerwah area of Budgam district in central Kashmir.
As the suspected spot was cordoned the hiding militants fired upon the searching party injuring one constable and SPO (special police officer), who later succumbed to his injuries. The militants have escaped from the spot.
According to news agency Kashmir Indepth News Service (KINS), IGP Vijay Kumar said a cordon was laid in a village in Beerwah area of Budgam.
“In the initial exchange of firing, SPO Altaf Ahmed and constable Manzoor Ahmed sustained injuries. Altaf succumbed to injuries later,” Kumar said.
There were reports of presence of a militant Yusuf Kandroo and another foreign militant.
In a separate incident, a gunfight erupted shortly after security forces launched an operation late Thursday in a village in southern Shopian district following a tip that three militants were there.
“All three were killed in an exchange of gunfire early Friday,” Kumar said. He said police recovered two rifles and a pistol.
While, two policemen were killed on Friday afternoon. The attack took place on the High Security Airport Road in the Baghat area of Srinagar. The two policemen were shot from close range
The wounded police officers were taken to a hospital where they died. They were identified as Mohammad Yousuf and Suhail Ahmad.
A short video of the attack circulated on social media shows a man in a pheran, a Kashmiri tunic worn during the winter, taking out what appears to be an automatic rifle and shooting at the policemen. He then quickly runs away.
The IGP Kashmir said Lashkar-e-Toiba militants including a local were behind the Baghat attack.
“One among them is a foreign militant while another Saqib is a local,” he said.
He said the policemen were on a routine duty and were at a shop to buy something.
“They were fired from the back. They were totally unarmed,” he said. “Doctors at the hospital tried their best to save the two injured cops but they could not survive,” he said.
He said policemen will take some precautionary measures in the future. “We will plug the loopholes,” he said.
About detention of a civilian, Kumar said, “He might have been detained for questioned. We have not arrested anyone related to Baghat incident.”
The slain cops have been identified as Suhail Ahmed and Muhammad Yousuf, residents of Ashmuqam, Anantnag and Zurhama, Kupwara (KINS)
