Three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were killed in a 16-hour gunbattle between militants and security forces in Pulwama on Tuesday. According to the Jammu & Kashmir police, the militants, who belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), were hiding in a three-storey house.
Acting on a tip-off, a joint team of the J&K police’s counter insurgency wing and the CRPF cordoned the village and began combing operations on Monday evening. The Army joined the operation on Tuesday.
According to villagers, around 12.30 p.m. a huge explosion took place in the house in which the militants were hiding.
“The first militant came out through the back door shouting slogans and he was immediately shot. Two others were also killed when they tried to flee the burning house,” said a local.
The police identified the slain militants as the JeM’s district commander Altaf Ahmad Rather (31), Showkat Ahmad Dar (22) and Farooq Ahmad Laway. Rather and Dar belonged to Pulwama.
Terming the operation as a major success, the police said Rather was involved in the killing of sarpanches and had threatened locals to boycott the Lok Sabha elections.
