Shopian, Jan 15: A top militant commander of militant outfit Jaish-e-Muhammad along with four of his associates was killed in a fierce gunfight with Government Forces in Gadru Forest area of Kellar in South Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday.
Police sources told news agency that Special Operation Group Kellar received a tip-off at around 9:45 on Wednesday evening regarding the presence of five armed militants in Gadru Forest. In a swift action Army personnel from 44 and 53 RR and SOG personnel from Kellar and Shopian cordoned off the forest area where the militants were hiding. The security forces decided not to advance during the night. They put up flash lights and set up concertina wires, circling the area where the militants were hiding.
“At 9:30 on Thursday morning when Army and SOG advanced towards the actual location, the militants fired upon them indiscriminately. The Government Forces did not suffer any injury or causality as they were hiding in the bushes. The retaliation on part of Government Forces left two militants dead at early stage while the three militants hid themselves in dense bushes and engaged the troopers in fierce gunfight till 3:30 in the day,†a police official informed news agency adding that to force the militants to come out in the open, tear smoke shells were used in large numbers.
Sources said that the operation was called off at 3:30 with the killing of the rest of three remaining militants. Among the five slain militants one was the Divisional Commander of JeM whom police identified as Muhammad Toyib of Multan Pakistan. The rest of the four local militants have been identified as Master Shakeel Ahmed Wani alias Ali son of Ghulma Muhammad resident of Pakharpora, Tahir Ahmed Dar son of Abdul Gani Dar of Aglar Kandi, Ishfaq Ahmed Daga son of Ghulam Muhammad Daga resident of Arwani Kulgam and Parvez Ahemd Shah son of Muhammad Ahsan Shah a resident of Bata Muran Pulwama.
A police official said that Master Shakeel Ahmed Wani was involved in many militancy-related activities. He was one of the group members involved in the attack and weapon snatching incident of a police guard at Pakharpora shrine in Budgam district last year. Muhammad Toyib according to police was active in South Kashmir from past many years and was involved in different attacks carried out by militants on government forces. He said that the killing of Toyib along with his associates is a major set-back to JeM in South Kashmir.
Soon after the culmination of the fierce encounter, scores of people amid pro-freedom slogans staged a protest at different places including Kellar, Aglar Kandi, Rajpora and Pakharpora. Some youth hurled stones at the Government Forces.
Police said that 3 AK rifles, one SLR rifle and one pistol was recovered from the encounter site.
