2 SPOs Who Joined Militant Ranks Among 4 Killed in Pulwama
Image Courtesy: Kamran Yousuf
Two Special Police Officers (SPOs) of Jammu and Kashmir Police, who reportedly joined the militant ranks 24 hours ago, are among the four militants killed during a night-long gunfight with government forces in Panjran village of Lassipora area in southern Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
The duo has been identified as Shabir Ahmad of Tujan village in Pulwama and Suliman Ahmad of Uthmulla village in Shopian.
The other two militants have been identified as Irfan Ahmad Bhat of Arihal Pulwama and Ashiq Hussain Ganie of Panjran.
Shabir and Suliman were working as SPOs with Jammu and Kashmir Police and fled District Police Lines on Thursday morning with their service rifles.
Sources said on Friday morning one more body was recovered from the debris of the encounter site taking the toll to four.
They said that one more body was recovered Friday morning nearly 12 hours after the gunfight started. Earlier, in the wee hours, two bodies were recovered from the debris of the gunfight site. They said one militant was killed last night in the initial exchange of fire.
The gunfight broke out in Panjran village on Thursday night after a cordon-and-search operation was launched by a joint team of Army’s 44 RR and SOG of Jammu and Kashmir police in the village following inputs about the presence of militants in the area.
As the forces zeroed in at the suspected spot, the militants hiding inside fired upon forces triggering an encounter, reports said.
The authorities have already snapped internet services in the district.
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