Pulwama encounter: Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed, civilian injured in 12-hour operation in J&K's Tral area

Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed and a civilian was injured on Tuesday in an encounter, which broke out late on Monday, in the Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. “An anti-insurgency operation was launched in Tral on Monday night following a brief exchange of fire between the militants and the security forces,” a police spokesperson said. The official said that in the ensuing gun battle that lasted nearly 12 hours, two local militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were killed. [caption id=“attachment_4457971” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “The slain ultras have been identified as Adfar Fayaz Parray, resident of Gulshanpora in Tral, and Irfan Ahmad Rather, resident of Shariefabad in Tral,” he said. Jammu & Kashmir: Encounter underway between security forces and terrorists in Tral. More details awaited. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/e8lu8WCivb

Jammu & Kashmir: Encounter underway between security forces and terrorists in Tral. More details awaited. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/e8lu8WCivb

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He added that the security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to flush out the other militants. Television news reports said that security forces have blown up the house where they believed the militants were hiding. The spokesperson said arms, ammunition and other incriminating materials were recovered from the encounter site. He said a civilian, identified as Farooq Ahmad Malik, was hit by a stray bullet some distance from the encounter site. Malik was undergoing treatment and his condition was stable, he added. Less than a week ago, security forces were engaged in 56-hour-long encounter in the Jammu and Kashmir’s Handwara district. The gunfight began on Friday morning after a cordon and search operation was launched in the area and ended only on Sunday afternoon. Two militants, five security personnel, including a CRPF officer, and a civilian were killed in the encounter at Babagund village of Langate area. The bodies of both the militants were recovered from the site of the gunfight, but they have not been identified yet. Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were recovered from the encounter site. The police spokesperson also said that the encounter went on for 56 hours because of the area’s geographical terrain and the presence of civilians in the area. With inputs from PTI