Two JeM militants, including one wanted for Pulwama attack, killed in encounter in Anantnag; one army jawan dead

Srinagar: Two Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, including one wanted in connection with the Pulwama attack, and an Army soldier were killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday, police said. The security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Bijbehara area of the south Kashmir district in the morning following inputs about the presence of militants. The operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire on the forces, an officer said. [caption id=“attachment_6103921” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. ANI[/caption] An Army jawan was injured in the gun battle and he succumbed to injuries at a hospital, the official said. “Two terrorists were killed in the operation in Bijbehara. They have been identified as Sajad Bhat and Tauseef Bhat, and were affiliated with the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group,” the official said. Besides several terror crimes, the official said, Sajad Bhat was also wanted in connection with the suicide car blast in Lethpora area of Pulwama on 14 February that left 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel dead. On Monday, an Army major and a militant were killed, while another officer and two troopers injured in an encounter between the security forces and the ultras in Anantnag district, officials had said. On the same day in Pulwama, nine Army personnel and two civilians were injured when militants triggered a blast through an improvised explosive device (IED) fitted in a vehicle . Two of the jawans have succumbed to injuries on Tuesday, while the others are recuperating at a hospital. The site of the blast was 27 km from the area of the 14 February suicide attack. Last Wednesday, a lone Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist attacked a patrol team of the paramilitary force in Anantnag, killing five CRPF personnel. A police officer, who had reached the site shortly after the attack, was sprayed with bullets the moment he had stepped out of his bullet-proof vehicle. He was flown to the AIIMS, Delhi, but died on Sunday.