Srinagar: Two militants including a foreigner affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed while as five policemen sustained injuries in a swift encounter in Bemina area of Srinagar in the wee hours on Tuesday, police said.
A police officer told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the slain duo were same group who had managed to flee from the encounter at Sopore in Kashmir’s Baramulla district. “Police was tracking their movement and zeroed in on them at Bemina are of Srinagar,” he said.
The officer said that acting on specific information generated by Police regarding the movement of militants in Bemina area of Srinagar, police established a special naka in Bemina near JVC. “During naka checking two suspects while approaching the naka were challenged by the naka party, to which these suspects’ (militants) started indiscriminate firing upon at the naka party. The fire was however effectively retaliated, leading to a brief encounter,” he said.
A police spokesman in a statement to KNO said that in the initial exchange of fire, five police personnel received minor injuries who were immediately evacuated to hospital for the treatment of their injuries.
“In the ensuing brief encounter, two militants were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. As per the incriminating materials including documents recovered from the possession of both the killed duo have been identified as Abdullah Goujri, a resident of Faisalabad, Pakistan and Adil Hussain Mir alias Sufian alias Musab, resident of Anantnag, both linked with LeT,” the police spokesman said.
He said that slain militant Adil Hussain Mir had crossed over to Pakistan in year 2018 on visit VISA from Wagah.
Talking to media persons, Inspector General of Police Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar said that Pakistan-based handlers had sent two Pakistani LeT militants along with Adil Hussain, a resident of Pahalgam area with the directions to carry out attacks on Amarnath Yatra. “However, all the three militants have been killed now in two separate encounters—one at Sopore and the one at Bemina, Srinagar,” he said.
The IGP appreciated the role of police for tracking and neutralizing the militants who had recently escaped in Sopore encounter. “It is a big success for us as they were planning to attack Amarnath Yatra, however the prompt and timely action by the police led to the elimination of both the militants and thereby averting the possible major threat,” he said.
The police said that arms and ammunition including 2 AK-47 rifles, 10 magazines, 165 live cartridges, Y-SMS device, Matrix sheets, Pakistani medicines etc were recovered from the site of encounter.