3 militants, civilian killed in encounter in Srinagar, CRPF officer injured

Three militants and a civilian were killed while a deputy commandant of the CRPF were injured in an encounter at Batamaloo in Srinagar early on Thursday. The encounter was continuing when this report was published.

Police sources said the encounter started after security forces closed in on the area where militants were believed to be hiding.

Initially, a militant was killed in the exchange of fire between the militants and a joint team of CRPF and police’s Special Operations Group (SOG). A woman, Kounsar Riyaz, residing in the area was also hit with a bullet in the crossfire. She was taken to the police hospital where she was declared brought dead.

A deputy commandant of CRPF was also injured in the encounter. He was shifted to the Army Base 92 Hospital at Badami Bagh.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, later in a tweet, said two more militants have been killed in the operation, taking the number of militants killed in the encounter to three.

This is the second encounter in Srinagar this year. On May 19, two Hizbul Mujahideen militants including the group’s central Kashmir commander Junaid Sherai, son of detained Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Chief Ashrad Shrari, were killed at Kani Mazar in downtown Srinagar.