A boy, a CRPF jawan and three militants were killed in two separate shoot-outs in south Kashmir on Friday.
A police spokesman said militants fired upon a CRPF party of 90 Battalion around 12:15 p.m. in Anantnag's Bijbehara, resulting in injuries to a CRPF jawan and a minor boy.
“Both the injured were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment but they died their injuries”, the police said.
Zahid Daas, a militant of the J&K Islamic State outfit, was found to be involved in the Bijbehara attack. “The police have registered an FIR against him”, the police said.
The boy was identified as six-year-old Nehan Yawar from Kulgam’s Machwa-Yaripora area and the CRPF jawan as Shymal Kumar.
“An investigation is on and the officers continue to work to establish the full circumstances of this terror crime. The area was also cordoned”, the police said.
J&K’s regional political parties, including the National Conference (NC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Peoples Conference, condemned the attackers involved in the killing of the boy.
“An innocent six-year-old boy is the latest victim of the violence in Kashmir. His death in a dastardly attack by militants is tragic and condemned without reservation”, said NC vice president Omar Abdullah.
PDP leader Tahir Sayeed said, “Violence in all its manifestations must be denounced”.
Encounter killings
In south Kashmir’s Pulwama, the security forces called off an operation, which left three militants dead, after 20 hours in Tral's Chew Ullar village.
A contact with the hiding militants was established on Thursday afternoon and the operation was halted in the night and resumed in the morning.
“In the encounter, three terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. Their identification and affiliation are being ascertained”, the police said.
Arms and ammunition, including two AK rifles, six AK magazines, five AK rounds, one pistol, one pistol magazine, four pistol rounds and other incriminating materials were recovered from the encounter site, the police said.
The bodies of the militants were buried in north Kashmir's Handwara. “DNA samples have been collected. In case any family claims the killed terrorists to be their kith or kin, they can come forward for their identification and participation in last rites at Handwara”, the police said.
In stepped-up operations, 111 militants have been killed in Kashmir so far this year.
