J&K gun battle enters day 3 as militants, forces engage in fierce firefight

Srinagar: The massive anti-militancy operation in the forested areas of Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, entered third day on Sunday, with fierce exchanges of gunfire continuing between holed up militants and security forces.

The encounter, which began on Friday evening in the Akhal Khulsan forest, has so far resulted in the deaths of two militants — one suspected to be a local — while a soldier has been injured in the ongoing exchange of fire.

The operation, led by joint teams of the Army, CRPF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police, continues amid heavy gunfire as security forces intensify their efforts to flush out the remaining militants entrenched in the rugged terrain.

“Intense fire fight continued through the night in the vast forest area and the operation is going on,” said a security officer. “We are ensuring a tight cordon so that no holed up terrorist manages to flee. There is possibility that operation may prolong.”

Senior security officials are camping in Kulgam and monitoring the operation.

Sources said when the operation was launched on Friday, the security forces had an input about presence of at least four to militants being present in the area.

This is the second major encounter in Kashmir in a week.

On July 28 security forces eliminated three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists in an encounter in the Harwan-Dachigam forest area on the outskirts of Srinagar. A day later Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in Parliament that the three militants were responsible for the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, where 25 tourists and a local pony rider were killed.