Army captain,2 top HM commander among 7 killed, RDX recovered in J

Srinagar, Jun 24: An army captain S B Singh and two top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) were among seven people killed and nine others were wounded while security forces recovered huge cache of arms and ammunition in the Jammu and Kashmir overnight, an official spokesman said.

Official said troops of 55 Rashitriya Rifles (RR) and the police launched a joint operation at a village in Pulwama district last night.

However, when the troops were about to storm a particular house, the militants hiding inside opened fire and hurled grenades at them.

Reinforcements were rushed from the nearby camps and the cordon around the house was further tightened.

Troops retaliated after the holed up militants refused to surrender.

Capt Singh and a soldier were injured in the shootout, sources said, adding the injured were admitted to hospital. The captain later died, the sources said.

A self styled District Commander of HM Nissar Ahmad Sofi and another commander Sarafraz Ahmad were killed.

Two AK rifles and two magazines were seized from the slain militants. The house from where militants were firing was also damaged after security forces used mortars against the militants One person was killed and nine others, including a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan were injured in a grenade blast near the Akhara complex, which houses the holy Mace of Lord Shiva, at the busy Budshah Chowk near here at 1310 hrs.

They said militants hurled a hand grenade towards a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) bunker guarding the Akhara complex.

However, it exploded on the roadside, causing injuries to ten people, mostly shopkeepers and a CRPF jawan. The injured were admitted to various hospitals. One of the injured Ali Mohammad Parah died.

A UNI correspondent, who was in the same area at the time of blast, saw injured being taken to hospital by locals and police personnel.

The CRPF and police personnel deployed in the area immediately cordoned off the entire area and the traffic was suspended on the route leading to Civil Secretariat and offices of other top state government officials.

Security forces later searched a nearby commerical buildings, hotel and shops.

However, normalcy was restrored in the area after an hour.

One police constable who was injured in a grenade blast in the uptown succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
A report from Baramulla said at least one student was killed and his mother injured when security forces opened fire to disperse demonstrators, who set on fire police station Pattan on the Baramulla-Srinagar road today. Official sources said thousands of people took to streets after a student was killed and his mother injured in firing by security forces on protesters at Palhalan earlier during the day. She later succumbed to injuries in the hospital.

Later, the demonstrators went in a procession to Pattan to lodge a protest there. However, when police tried to stop them, they turned violent and set on fire Pattan police station.

Police resorted to lathicharge and also fired to disperse the demonstrators, sources said adding more than 25 people were injured in stone pelting and police action.

The trouble started when a misfire from the weapon of a security jawan of a Road Opening Party (ROP) at Palhalan caused panic among the people, including students, waiting near a local bus stop. When the people started running, security forces without realising that, mistook it as an attack and allegedly beat some of them (people).

Later, a large number of people gathered there and started protesting against the ''beating up of people'' by security forces.

The demonstrators also blocked traffic on the highway.

A TDC student Tariq Ahmad was killed and his mother was injured when security forces opened fire to disperse the demonstrators.

The highway remained closed and traffic was diverted via Sumbal, the sources said.

A defence ministry spokesman said a massive search operation was launched in the general area Jabwali in Khanbal in the frontier district of Kupwar,following information that militants have stored a large cache of arms and ammunition in a hideout.

After an extensive search of the area, the troops smashed a small cave under a rock leading to the hideout.

He said the arms and ammunition recovered from the hideout, included four AK 47 rifles, two UBGL, 35 IED devices, 338 hand grenades, 481 UBGL grenades, 34 electronic detonators, six wireless set, 32 RP grenades, 13 anti-personnel mines, two anti tank mines, 1.5 kg RDX and 120 TNT slabs.

This was the second major seizure of arms by the troops in north Kashmir during the past one week.

An official spokesman said one person was injured in crossfire between militants and security forces at Sogam in the frontier district of Kupwara. However, militants managed to escape.

He said security forces busted a hideout at Karnah and recovered one AK rifle, three magazines, 29 rounds of ammunition,one UBGL with four grenades and 3 detonators last night.

In a joint operation by police and security forces 52 kg of explosive was seized at Marmat while five people were arrested along with an IED fitted in pressure cooker at Kishtwar.

UNI