At least five government forces personnel including three cops and two militants were killed in a fierce gun battle inside District Police Lines Pulwama in South Kashmir on Saturday.Nine security personnel have sustained injuries and are being treated in the hospital.Official sources said that a group of militants, believed to be fidayeen, attacked a camp close to the District Police Lines.Some more militants are believed to be holed up as gunfight was in progress till the filing of this report. DGP S P Vaid said that a policeman, two SPOs, two CRPF men and two militants have been killed in the operation so far.Jammu and Kashmir Police tweeted saying there’s no hostage situation, all families evacuated, operation on, tweets J&K police. Extra forces have been rushed to the spot. The Ministry of Home Affairs, in a statement to the media, said that militants have been cornered in a set of government quarters and action to flush them out is in process, adding that exact number of militants is still not known.
Locals said the firing started around 4 am. The camp, that has been attacked, is situated in a high security area and close to DC and SSP office on Shopian Pulwama highway. An army camp is also located close to the encounter site.Eyewitnesses told CNS that choppers were seen hovering over the encounter site. Two building caught fire while intermittent firing and explosions rocked the district. A police official said that militants also fired an UBGL RD which got blown up in the DPL ground.Unconfirmed reports suggest that beises two militants, four policemen and two para-military troopers have been killed.During the gun fight scores of youth hit to roads and clashed with government forces who retaliated with tear-smoke shelling and aerial firing. Youth pelted stones on the government forces deployed near the encounter site.It will be premature to say anything at this stage. The gunfight is on and exactly it is not clear how many militants and the security men have been killed,” said a police official from district Pulwama. (CNS)