Shopian encounter: 2 militants killed; woman dies as clashes erupt between locals, forces

A 24-year-old woman was killed on Tuesday during clashes near the site of an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district where two militants were gunned down by security forces overnight.

The woman, identified by locals as Beauty Jan, wife of Manzoor Ahmad, was hit by a bullet during clashes between security forces and locals near the encounter site in Bhatmaran village of the district in south Kashmir.

She was rushed to a hospital but died on the way.

DIG (south Kashmir), S P Pani confirmed the woman’s death in crossfire and asked people to stay away from the site as the operation was still on to nab a third militant.

According to reports, some locals were pelting stones to disrupt the search operation.

Of the two slain militants, one was a foreigner and the other a local belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Pani said.

Sources said the local militant was Tanveer Ahmad Bhat from Bhatmaran in Shopian.

Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Wanipora area of Shopian on Monday evening following information about presence of militants in the area, an army official said.

When the forces challenged the militants, they opened fire resulting in an encounter.

According to a police spokesman, bodies of two militants were recovered along with their weapons.

The operation was still on as a third militant was still alive and he had “started firing again”, inspector general of police, Muneer Khan had said earlier.

Later, the police said they were searching for the third militant, who is believed to have escaped.

(With inputs from agencies)