(Updating earlier copy)
Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): A Jaish-e-Muhammad commander was killed in the ongoing encounter at Arampora village of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said today.
“JeM commander Sajad Nawab Dar got neutralised in ongoing encounter at Sopore. Further details to follow,” read a tweet by Kashmir Zone police. The encounter started early this morning in which a house also got damaged. Joint teams of security forces had laid siege in Arampora after a specific lead about the presence of militants in the area.
In its earlier tweet, police had stated that two to four militants were believed to be trapped in a house. As per the locals of Arampora, the house in which the militants were hiding, was blown up amid intense exchange of firing from both sides. A local resident from Arampora said that the house where militants were hiding went up in flames early in the morning barely a few hours after the encounter started.
A source in the police said that the encounter was in the last stage and massive mopping operation was going on to rule the presence of any more militants. “Firing has stopped and we are searching whether any other militant is present near the encounter spot,” he said. The operation is being carried out jointly by police, army and the paramilitary CRPF. The security forces had laid a siege in Arampora village late last night after acting on a tip-off about the presence of militants in a residential house. After hectic searches, the security forces zeroed in on a particular house in the wee hours after which a contact with the hiding militants was established.
