2 Militants,4 Civilians Killed in Firing Incident in J&K’s Shopian

The police have recovered two more bodies, one of a militant and one of a civilian, after the firing incident at South Kashmir’s Shopian district, that took place on 4 March. The death toll has now risen to six.

The two deceased have been identified as Ashiq Hussain Bhat, a militant of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Gowhar Ahmed Lone, a resident of Chitragam in Shopian, reports PTI. While Bhat was found seven km from Pahnoo, where the Army had fired upon two vehicles, Lone was recovered from another vehicle near the incident.

Earlier, the police had recovered the bodies of two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants and four civilians, who were said to be overground workers for the militant group by the Army, The four were killed in South Kashmir's Shopian district on 4 March.

According to the Army, a mobile squad of the force asked two vehicles to stop in a militancy-affected area near Pohan. The squad was fired upon from inside a car. Troops retaliated, resulting in the death of the vehicle's occupants. Police rushed to the spot and identified one of the deceased as Amir Ahmed Malik, who had joined the LeT militant group in July 2017.

The bodies of the others were handed over to their legal heirs, a police spokesperson said. “Weapons have been seized and legal proceedings initiated,” he said.

Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the three of the deceased – residents of Trenz, Pinjoora and Imam Sahib areas of Shopian – were overground workers and accomplices of the slain militant Shahid Ahmad Dar, a resident of Jamnagri in Shopian, reports News18. However, locals have denied the allegations, stating that they were civilians, the report adds.

As reported by ANI, following the incident at Shopian, authorities have directed telecom companies to suspended mobile Internet services across Kashmir Valley.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI and News18.)

(This is a developing story and will be updated.)

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