M A I N   N E W S

Day-long shootout in Srinagar leaves two Jaish ultras dead
Tribune News Service/IANS

Srinagar, October 21
In a day-long operation, two foreign militants of the terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Maloora village on the outskirts of Srinagar city today. Two houses were also damaged in the encounter.

Those killed have been identified as Yousuf Bhai and Mumtaz, both highly trained foreign militants. Yusuf Bhai, according to the local police, was an expert in Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

“They had plans to carry out fidayeen (suicide) attacks on security force establishments”, a police spokesman said.

The third Jaish militant, involved in the over 10-hour-long gunfight with security forces, has been caught alive. The ultra jumped out of the besieged house where the three were holed up and started indiscriminate firing, before taking shelter in an adjacent house. The bodies of the other two militants have been recovered from the demolished houses.

Acting on a specific information about the presence of militants, the police and the Army cordoned off Zari Mohalla in Maloora village, about 15 km from here, early this morning. The joint operation was launched by the police Sumbal, Parimpora (Srinagar) and 2RR, a police spokesman here said.

A fierce encounter ensued as the militants hiding inside a house opened fire and lobbed hand grenades on the search party.