Srinagar: Government forces on Friday recovered charred bodies o f two militants and a minor boy, who was allegedly kept hostage by the militants, were recovered as a gunfight ended in Hajin area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
A joint team of Army’s 13RR, CRPF and SOG had launched a joint cordon-and-search-operation at Mir Mohalla of Hajin late on Thursday afternoon.
As the joint team approached the suspected house, the militants hiding inside it fired upon, triggering off an encounter. The operation was suspended for the night and resumed at the crack of the dawn.
Both the militants were killed in the encounter, a police official said.
He had said family and members of local Auqaf committee and a magistrate were brought to the encounter site to persuade the hiding militants to release those “taken hostage by them”.
While one of the two hostages, a minor girl, was evacuated by the joint team of government forces, minor boy identified as Atif Mir died. Official sources said that the house belong to Abdul Hamid Mir was razed to rubble and all the three bodied were charred. Police and army also recovered two Ak-47 rifles from the encounter site. Among the two militants killed, one of them is said to be ‘Ali Bhai’, a top commander of LeT whoch was active in the area for several years. However, the identity and group affiliation of the slain militants was not official confirmed so far.
Army spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said that two militants were killed in the encounter.
“Bodies of the slain militants along with weapons and warlike stores recovered,” the spokesman added.
