Five militants, woman killed in J&K

The identity and group affiliation of the slain terrorists were not immediately known.

The infiltrators opened fire towards the positions of the security forces in Baramulla, which was retaliated. Picture for representation purpose only.

Five militants and a pregnant woman were killed in three incidents in Kashmir on Friday, while seven soldiers were injured in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on Thursday night.

Firdousa Jan, wife of Khursheed Ahmad Sheikh from the Qasbayar area of Shadimarg in Pulwama, sustained a fatal bullet injury on Friday evening after security forces and militants exchanged fire.

“Militants had fired a grenade from an under-barrel grenade launcher at an Army camp in Shadimarg,” Senior Superintendent of Police Chandan Kholi said.

The grenade blast was followed by heavy firing by the security forces and the militants, which resulted in the killing of the woman, six months into her pregnancy.

Earlier, two militants were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces at a checkpoint near Kralhar on the Srinagar-Baramulla highway around 1.30 p.m., a police official said. The militants opened fire from a vehicle.

A policeman sustained minor injuries in the encounter.

The police said the driver was arrested. “The vehicle has been seized,” the spokesman added. The slain militants were later identified as Faizan and Wahab, both from Pakistan, of Jaish-e-Muhammad.

Earlier in the day, the Army said it foiled an infiltration bid and killed three militants in the Rampur area, Baramulla, along the Line of Control (LoC).

A group of infiltrators opened fire after being challenged by the soldiers. In the ensuing gun battle, three were killed,” said Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia.

Pulwama remained on edge after seven Army men were injured and a vehicle damaged in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Lassipora area on Thursday night.

The IED planted under a bridge exploded around 9.30 p.m. on the Trichal-Lassipora road when the armoured vehicle of the Army’s 55 Rashtriya Rifles crossed it. Three seriously wounded were airlifted to the Army’s 92 base hospital in Srinagar. The explosion caused panic in the area as it damaged the windowpanes of houses nearby. Security forces allegedly thrashed local residents after the attack.

Meanwhile, the authorities disallowed Friday prayers at the historic Jamia Masjid