Srinagar, December 13 (KNO) : Two militants affiliated with Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) were killed in an encounter that raged between forces and militants in Brath Kalan area of Sopore of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday. The gunfight as per police broke out on Wednesday evening after a day-long search operation launched by the police and forces.
Police told KNO that as the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the hiding militants. “The fire was retaliated leading to a gunfight,” he said. In the ensuing encounter, two militants were killed and the bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter, police said.
The slain militants were identified as Owais Ahmad Bhat alias Abu Bakar, son of Ghulam Ahmad Bhat of Gund Brath Sopore and Tahir Ahmad Dar alias Abu Abdullah, son of Mohammad Ramzan Dar of Saidpora Sopore, police said, adding that they were affiliated with LeT outfit.
Police added that both the militants were wanted by the law for their complicity in crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities. “Huge quantity of arms and ammunition including rifles were recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and probe their complicity in other cases,” police said.
Meanwhile, police urged people not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. “People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosives materials if any,” police said. Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in the last rites of two slain militants.
During the funeral prayers of slain militants, Owais Ahmad Bhat and his friend Tahir Ahmad Dar, emotional scenes were witnessed as the women folk were seen wailing in the crowd, beating their chests to mourn their death. Witnesses said that there was huge attendance of people, who came from nook and corner of Sopore town.
Later on, both the militants were laid to rest amid massive pro-freedom and anti-Indian slogans at their ancestral graveyard in Brath Village and Shadipora area of Sopore town. Slain Owais, an Information Technology student left home along with his friend a month ago after the killing of slain militant Minhaaz. Meanwhile, a complete shutdown was observed in the town following the killing of two militants. All the shops and business establishments are closed while as traffic is off the roads.Reports said that clashes also erupted in many parts of Sopore town during the day.(KNO)