Srinagar, June 18: Two rebels, one of them a Pakistani national, were killed in a fierce overnight gunfight with Indian army and police in Indian Kashmir on Friday.

A senior police official said police and army soldiers laid siege around Poshnad, Kreeri, 55 kms North of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir on Thursday evening after receiving inputs about presence of militants in the area.

“After plugging off all the entry and exit points in the area, we zeroed-in on a residential house where we had information that two militants were hiding. We told the militants to surrender and lay down the weapons.

However, they opened fire from AK-47 rifles. The fire was returned by the soldiers,” he said.

The official said a militant sustained bullet injuries in the gunfight last evening but alongwith his associate continued to engage the soldiers. “An all out operation was launched in the early morning after additional soldiers reached the spot and tightened the siege. Both the rebels holed up in the house were killed,” he said adding the house suffered extensive damage.

The police officer identified the deceased militants as Sajjad, a Pakistani national and Janbaz, a Kashmiri. “Two AK-rifles and some ammunition were recovered from the encounter site,” he said.

Meanwhile, another gunfight has erupted between militants and soldiers at Marbal forests, Sopore some 60 kms North from Srinagar. “The exchange of fire between the army soldiers and unspecified number of rebels was going on,” a police officer said.

He said that they have reports that 4-6 militants were hiding in the area.

The North Kashmir region in Indian Kashmir has been hot of militancy front and has witnessed many gunfights and militant attacks this year.

Write your comments and thoughts bellow.

National Turk / India – Faiz Ahmad