Two Al-Badr militants were killed in a night-long anti-militancy operation in south Kashmir’s Pulwama on Thursday and explosives were found on a highway in Jammu and defused.
“The killed persons were identified as local terrorists Aijaz Hafiz and Shahid Ayub. Two AK-47 rifles were recovered. Both belong to Al-Badr. They had been involved in a series of attacks on outside labourers in Pulwama in March-April 2022,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.
The militants were encircled in Mitrigam during a joint cordon and search operation launched by the Army and police around 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Around 4:10 p.m., terrorists attempted to break the cordon and opened heavy fire. A soldier suffered multiple gunshot wounds. He was immediately evacuated to the 92 Base Hospital,” an Army spokesman said.
Hiding in houses
The militants were hiding in a cluster of eight houses, including a cowshed, with a large orchard adjoining them. “Systematic evacuation of civilians from the area was undertaken in coordination with the police. The area was kept under constant surveillance using quad- copters to locate the terrorists,” the Army said.
The firefight between the terrorists and security forces continued till about 9:50 p.m., when it was found that one terrorist had been neutralised and the other grievously injured. Around 2:15 a.m., it was found that the second terrorist had also been neutralised,” the Army said.
Officials said “explosive material” was found alongside the highway in Jammu’s Sidhra area. “Suspicious object was found alongside a highway in Sidhra area of Jammu city outskirts. The site was sealed and the material or device was destroyed through a controlled mechanism carried out by the bomb disposal squad of the police,” Additional Director General of Police, Jammu, Mukesh Singh said.
