Two militants killed, four civilians injured in gunfight in J&K's Shopian; gunman's father dies of shock after news of encounter

Two militants were killed and six people were injured on Tuesday during a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district, police said. Two of the holed up militants in Kundalan village were killed after they challenged and opened fire on the security forces earlier in the day.

The bodies of the slain militants have not yet been recovered as the operation to flush out the remaining ultras continues, a police officer said.

Four civilian protesters and two troopers of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles, including a junior commissioned officer (JCO) were also injured in the gun battle.

The civilian protesters were injured as they clashed with the security forces near the gunfight site, sources said.

While the injured soldiers were shifted to Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar, the civilians were shifted to a different hospital, the police officer said.

Apart from the two casualties, a father died of shock on hearing that his son was trapped in the Shopian gunfight. Muhammad Ishaq Naikoo, father of Zeenat who had just joined militant ranks, was declared dead on arrival by the doctors at a hospital.

5-6 terrorists were stuck in a house in the Kundalan area of the district, as evacuation of civillians was underway, ANI reported.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated.

He said a large number of civilians rushed towards the encounter site at Kundullan and started pelting stones at security personnel.

The encounter, as well as the clashes in the outer periphery of the cordoned area, were going on when reports last came in, he said.

With inputs from agencies.