Two militants of Hizbul Mujaheedin outfit were killed in an over 30-hour-long fierce gunfight in south Kashmir Shopian district on Wednesday evening.
Four army troopers including a senior officer were injured during the fierce encounter which began Tuesday afternoon after troops of counter insurgency, Rashtriya Rifles and police jointly surrounded a house in Heff Shirmaal village in Shopian district on specific information about presence of militants inside it.
“During the late afternoon of February 24, specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists in village Heff Shirmal of Shopian district was received. A joint operation was launched by the army and the Special Operations Group of police by 3:40 pm. The terrorists were holed up in a house in village. As soon as the troops closed on to the house, the terrorists opened heavy volume of fire,” a defence spokesman said in a statement.
“This led to heavy exchange of fire and the operations lasted through the night and continued on Wednesday, leading to the killing of two hardcore terrorists. The slain terrorists have been identified as Ashiq Hussain Dar and Shabir Ahmed Ganai, belonging to the Hizbul Mujaheedin outfit,” the statement added.
“The operations to flush out the terrorists from the house were conducted very deliberately to avoid any collateral damage. Four army persons also sustained injuries in the gunfight including an officer and were evacuated to BaseHospital where their condition is stable. The search of the nearby houses and the adjoining jungle area is still in progress as per the last reports,” the statement said.
