A fierce encounter in South Kashmir ended on a bloody note with the killing of four militants, a cop and a civilian while an injured woman has been battling for life in Srinagar hospital.The gunfight erupted in khiram Srigufwara area of South Kashmir after Government Forces laid a siege and started search operation. A police official said that militants were hiding in the house of one Muhammad Yousuf Rather. As the Forces approached towards the house, the militants opened fire. The Forces retaliated effectively resulting in the killing of four militants.Director General of Police SP Ved in his tweet said that the slain militants reportedly belonged to ISJK.The official claimed that militants fired indiscriminately and didn’t allow Forces to evacuate family members. The house owner Muhammad Yousuf Rather was killed in cross fire while his wife Hafeeza Begum was shifted to SKIMS Srinagar for specialized treatment. He added that two army men and a cop of Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police were injured in the firefight. The injured were rushed to a hospital where the cop, identified as Ashiq Hussain of Tainmulla Chitergull succumbed.A police official confirmed that four militants were killed in the gunfight. He said they were shifted to local police station to ascertain their identity.” Sources identified the slain militants as Dawood Ahmed Sofi of HMT Srinagar, Adil Rehman Bhat from Sheetipora Bijbehara and Muhammad Ashraf Itoo from Hatiegam Bijbehara and Majid Manzoor Dar from Telangan Pulwama.
Meanwhile, massive clashes erupted near the site of the gunfight and in the adjoining areas.Reports said that youth pelted stones on the Forces who responded by firing live ammunition, tear gas and pellets resulting in injuries to at least twenty civilians.One of the injured civilians, identified as Ubaid Ahmad, suffered a bullet injury in his neck, reports said, adding that he was shifted to a hospital where his condition remains critical.Authorities suspended the Internet service in Pulwama, Anantnag and Srinagar in the wake of the gunfight and the militant and civilian killings.Massive clashes erupted in Mustafa Abad HMT here in Kashmir capital Srinagar when news about the killing of local militant in Srigufwara encounter spread in the area. Scores of agitated youth resorted to massive stone-pelting while police lobbed tear-smoke shells to disperse them. Witnesses said that police vehicles were attacked with stones in the area forcing shopkeepers to windup their business. Clashes also erupted in Pulwama and Anantnag where people observed a complete shutdown to mourn the militant and civilian killings.Meanwhile, forces have cordoned off adjoining Mehand and Khusrai Kalan villages of Dachnipora as they believe some militants might have fled there following the gunfight. (CNS)