Amid clashes in Shopian, the Army continued its operation till 3 am, but the militants could not be neutralised because of the volatile situation which provided the militants an opportunity to escape before being killed by the security forces
Jammu: One civilian was killed and 50 others were injured in clashes with security forces in Shopian, south Kashmir, on Thursday (May 30). The clashes broke out soon after security forces launched a 12-hour-long search operation to flush out militants from a house, where they were hiding.
Sources in security agencies told MyNation that reliable intelligence was received about the presence of a militant group in a house in Gugloora village in Pinjura area of Shopian.
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"A cordon was laid jointly by the Army, police and paramilitary forces around the area where the militants were hiding yesterday afternoon. This was done based on intelligence inputs," said one of the intelligence sources.
The security agencies laid a siege in the area and all the exit points of Gugloora village were kept under check.
As the security forces were moving towards the house, eyewitnesses told MyNation that youths came out on the streets and held demonstrations and also pelted stones.
While the Army was continuing to hunt for hiding militants, paramilitary and Jammu and Kashmir Police got busy with protesting youth.
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"Smoke shells were fired, they used pellet guns and fired bullets on the protestors, but the youths did not stop protesting," said eyewitnesses where security forces and protestors entered into ding-dong battle on the streets.
The shops were closed and normal life was affected due to clashes between the protestors and security forces in Gugloora village.
Amid clashes, the Army continued its operation till 3 am, but the militants could not be neutralised because of the volatile situation which provided the militants an opportunity to escape before being killed by the security forces.
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"Soldiers of 44 Rashtriya Rifles along with Special Operation Group of local police established contact with the hiding militants when both sides exchanged few rounds, but militants managed to flee taking advantage of darkness," said sources.
They said that the 12-hour long search operation was called off, when no body of the militants was recovered from the encounter site.
Meanwhile, the clashes between the stone pelters and security forces left over 50 wounded. One of the critically injured civilian named Sajjad Ahmed Parrey, son of Ali Mohammed Parrey, resident of Shopian, succumbed to his injuries.
"Sajjad was critically injured when a bullet hit his abdomen. He was rushed to a hospital and then referred to Srinagar for specialised treatment. He succumbed on way to the hospital," said the locals.
The militants have been trying to carry out a suicide attack on the security installation in the month of Ramzan while security forces have been on their toes to foil any such attempt to cause damage.
The intelligence units have involved locals against militant activities across Kashmir leading to productive inputs about the hideouts of militants and their over ground workers. Different security agencies have been coordinating in Kashmir to eliminate militant activities.
In the past few months, security forces have achieved major success after they killed some commanders of the militant outfits in Kashmir especially Zakir Musa.
Picture for representational purpose only
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