(Updating earlier copy)
Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Two terrorists, including a Lashkar-e-Taiba commander from Pakistan and a local terrorist from south Kashmir, who were trapped in the Barzulla-Rambagh area of Srinagar today, have been gunned down by the forces, the police said.
“Srinagar Encounter Update: 02 terrorists killed. Search going on. Further details shall follow,” the Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.
#SrinagarEncounterUpdate: 02 #terrorists killed. Search going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/7Qw0w1f6Br
— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) October 12, 2020
This is the second encounter in Srinagar after September 17 when three terrorists were killed and a woman lost her life after she was hit by bullets in a cross-fire at Batamaloo area of the summer capital.
The identity of the terrorists was revealed by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar while talking to reporters near the encounter site here. The IGP said that two terrorists including LeT commander Saifullah and another local terrorist from south Kashmir were trapped at the encounter site.
“Saifullah was involved in the attack on CRPF on September 24 in which ASI of CRPF was killed. He was also involved in the killing of two CRPF men and injuring three others at Kandizaal, Pampore (in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district),” IGP Kumar said.
He said Saifullah had infiltrated into Kashmir this year only and was first operating in north Kashmir and since past two months, he has been operating in south Kashmir,” the IGP added.
He said that last evening, police received a specific input about the presence of Lashkar commander Saifullah and a local terrorist from south Kashmir. “We laid a cordon and the terrorists got trapped,” he stated.
The IGP further said that the many civilians were evacuated from the congested area. “We offered them to surrender as that’s part of our Standard Operating Procedure (SoP), but they refused and fired, triggering an encounter,” the IGP said.
Asked whether the slain terrorists were roaming in Lal Chowk area of Srinagar yesterday, the IGP said, “These are operational details and can’t be shared with the media.”
He also said that after the Kandizaal, Pampore attacks recently, the police had promised that it will track the attackers soon and the promise stands fulfilled.
-RJV/CHK/ARK
