Two each freedom fighters killed in Baramula(J &K) and Bijapur(Chhattisgarh)

Two Naxalites  & Two Kashmiris were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said.

The gunfight broke out around 11 am in a forest on the tri-junction of Usoor-Basaguda-Pamed villages, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, told PTI.

Personnel from the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action — an elite unit of the CRPF) were involved in the operation, he said.

The official said after the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of two Naxalites were recovered from the spot along with a self-loading rifle (SLR), barrel grenade launcher shells and locally made weapons.A search operation was under way in the area, he added.

With this, security forces have gunned down 191 Naxalites in separate encounters in the state’s Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Bijapur, police said.

On October 4, the bodies of 31 Naxalites were recovered following an encounter in a forest along the border of Narayanpur-Dantewada districts in the region.

Two militants were killed in an encounter between militants and the security forces in north Kashmir’s Sopore, officials said. The police said they had received inputs about the presence of militants in the Sagipora area of Sopore in...

The police said they had received inputs about the presence of militants in the Sagipora area of Sopore in Baramulla district. Joint forces launched a cordon and search operation in the area on Thursday evening, the police said, adding that the hiding militants opened fire at the forces, which retaliated.

Kashmir IGP VK Birdi said the operation concluded on Friday afternoon and two terrorists were gunned down.

The Kashmir zone police said on X that two terrorists had been neutralised in the Sopore encounter and their identification and affiliation were being ascertained. “Incriminating material, arms and ammunition have been recovered. Further details shall follow,” the police said.

Addressing a press conference, security officials said civilians were evacuated during the Sopore operation.

The Army said war-like stores and other material were recovered from the slain militants. “They were operating in north Kashmir for the past few days and their killing is a big success for the security forces,” said an Army officer.

After a hectic search for the bodies of the two Village Defence Guards (VDGs), who were abducted and killed by terrorists in Kishtwar on Thursday, a joint search party of the Army, J&K Police and CRPF was able to recover their mortal remains in a forest area.

The Army and Special Operations Group (SOG), after locating the bodies, carefully conducted an operation to recover them, the officials said.

A massive cordon-and-search operation is also underway to track down the terrorists responsible for the killings. The operation is concentrated in the Kuntwara, Ohli, and Munzla Dhar hilly areas, with reinforcements dispatched early this morning, the officials said.

According to officials, the two VDGs, identified as Kuldeep Kumar and Nazir Ahmed, residents of Ohli Kuntwara in Kishtwar, were executed by terrorists on Thursday after being abducted in the higher reaches of the district. Their bodies were spotted lying near a rivulet in the Pondgwari area in Keshwan belt.

The officials reported that Ahmad and Kumar had gone to graze cattle in the Munzla Dhar forest in Adhwari but did not return. Their families informed the police, who along with Army and CRPF started a search in the forests, which are far-off and inaccessible through motorable roads but could not find them. However, on Friday the search operation was restarted and their bodies were found with their hands tied behind their back.

“In an intensive joint search operation, police successfully recovered the bodies of two VDGs, Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar, who were abducted and killed in a terror attack in Kishtwar district. The operation, led by the J&K Police in collaboration with the CRPF and Army was conducted to search the forested areas where the bodies were recovered,” a statement by J&K Police read.

The bodies were retrieved from Pondigari Keshwan forest area near a rivulet. The terrorists behind the killing seem to have escaped from the area. Kashmir Tigers, an offshoot of Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, claimed responsibility for the killings, sharing images of the victims with blindfolded eyes.

DGP Nalin Prabhat and Additional Director General of Police Anand Jain were camping in Kishtwar to oversee the search operation for the bodies and subsequent cordon and search operation against the ultras.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the terrorist attack on VDG members. In a statement, he said, “No words are strong enough to condemn the heinous terrorist attack on VDG members in Kishtwar. I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families of brave sons martyred in this cowardly attack.”

Police on Friday said it has arrested three terror associates of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit who were involved in the grenade attack on Sunday at the popular flea market that left 12 persons injured.

Giving details, Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone V K Birdi said the Srinagar police have solved the attack case with the arrest of three terror associates.

“The arrested persons have been identified as Usama Yasin Sheikh, Umar Fayaz Sheikh and Afnan Mansoor Sheikh. All three belong to the Ikhrajpora area of the city,” Birdi said

He added the terror associates carried out the attack at the instance of Pakistani handlers with the aim of disturbing the peace and tranquillity.

“A case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been registered against the trio,” he added.