Major, jawan killed in encounter

Five VDC members shot by militants

Jammu/Srinagar, December 1
A Major, a jawan and two terrorists were killed in a fierce encounter at the Keri Gulati area in the Mendhar sector of Poonch district late this evening.

The SSP, Poonch, Dr Kamal Saini, said on a tip-off that some ultras were hiding in a jungle in the Keri Gulati area, the police and Army personnel launched a joint operation to flush them out.

On sighting the security personnel, the militants opened fire and in the ensuing gunbattle, which lasted about eight hours, two terrorists including a foreign mercenary belonging to the Hizb-e-Islami outfit, were shot dead, the SSP said. Dr Saini said Major Jaitly and a jawan were also killed in the encounter.

Meanwhile, a grenade blast and killings by the militants have left eight persons, including five village defence committee (VDC) members, dead and 40 others injured in Jammu and Kashmir since late last night. In other militancy-related incidents, forces shot dead 15 ultras during the past 24 hours.

A spokesman of the Kilo force said the troops killed six militants in an encounter at Palapora in Baramula district today.

Official sources said today that militants lobbed a hand grenade towards a BSF vehicle at the main chowk, Bandipora, about 55 km from here, North Kashmir at around 2.30 p.m. The grenade exploded on the roadside, injuring about 40 persons, including some policemen.

In Jammu, militants, wearing police uniforms, lured the VDC members and two others outside the village on the pretext of patrolling the area, and shot them dead.

The slain VDC members have been identified as Yashpal Singh, Chain Singh, Prem Singh and Gopal Singh. Two other victims were identified as Farooq and Mirza.

An official spokesman said the Army and the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir police today killed two militants in a joint operation at Zub Magam Handwara and recovered some arms and ammunition.

In an encounter between militants and security forces at Sonamula in the frontier district of Kupwara last night, Ibrahim, a self-styled divisional commander of the Al-Badr, and two other militants were killed. UNI