Two militants and two soldiers were killed in the Kashmir Valley on Saturday as curfew and restrictions affected life for the 22nd day.
An Army spokesman said some militants were intercepted on Friday night in Kupwara district of north Kashmir.
“Troops intercept militants attempting to infiltrate during the night. Two militants were killed in the gunfight; two soldiers also lost their lives. One soldier was injured,” the spokesman said. The gunfight took place in the Nowgan sector, where two major infiltration bids were foiled in July. The Army killed four foreign militants on Wednesday in the same sector and arrested militant Bhadur Ali, a resident of Lahore.
Meanwhile, an active member of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, led by Syed Ali Geelani, was killed by unidentified gunmen in Baramulla district. Fayaz Ahmad Rather, 45, was killed near his house at Saidpora village after gunmen took him to nearby fields.
Seven persons injured in protest
One civilian died of injuries after he rammed his motorcycle into the barricades set up by protesters in Budgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, where curfew and restrictions affected life for the 22nd day on Saturday.
He was identified as Abdul Ahad Ganie. “His son was critically injured,” a police spokesman said.
In the continuing street protests, seven persons were injured in south and central Kashmir. Three persons, including a woman, sustained bullet wounds in Shopian district. Four protesters sustained pellet injuries in Budgam after demonstrators attacked security forces.
With street protests fast turning into a faceless agitation, the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) has asked the people to follow the protest calls of separatists.
“Those people who try to defy shutdowns are asked to mend their ways as they are betraying the blood of martyrs. Miscreants and Indian intelligence agencies are trying to defame the Kashmir struggle by issuing fake statements in our name to divide the people,” LeT spokesperson Abdullah Ghaznavi said in a statement.
