Two militants, aide and a police man killed in Srinagar encounter

A day after the polling for the fourth and final leg of Urban Local Body polls was over,  two  militants and their aide have been killed in a fire fight with security forces in Srinagar on early Wednesday morning. A Jammu and Kashmir police man has also lost his life during the gun fight.

A police official said that security forces ring-fenced Fateh Kadal locality in old city and launched a door to door search  operation, following the inputs about the presence of  of militants in the area.

As forces came close to a residential house, the militants hiding there opened fire, triggering an encounter, the official said, adding that two militants and their aide were killed in the retaliatory action. The local residents,  however, claimed the third militant was the son of house owner.

A  police man belonging to Jammu and Kashmir's Special Operation's Group (SOG), according to the official,  was also killed during the anti- militancy operation.

The slain SOG man has been identified as Kamal Kishore.

Additional Director General of Police, Law and  Order Muneer Khan told National Herald that two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants along with their Over Ground Worker were killed during the operation.

He identified two slain militants as Mehraj Bangroo and Faid Mushtaq Waza.

Scores of reporters have alleged that security forces thrashed them near the encounter site while they were discharging their professional duties.

Srinagar city has witnessed a sharp spike in the militancy over past few months. On  October 5 militants killed two National Conference workers near the same Fateh Kadal locality in Srinagar.

A senior police officer, wishing not to be named, said that the south Kashmir militants were desperate to lure young men into their ranks in Srinagar.