Police on Thursday identified the Jaish militant killed in a gunfight with security forces in Kulgam last night as Babar Bhai.
“#KulgamEncounterUpdate: Killed JeM #terrorist identified as Babar bhai of #Pakistan, active since 2018 in the areas of Shopian-Kulgam. One AK rifle, one pistol and two grenades recovered,” a police spokesman said.
Besides the militant, a cop was also killed in the encounter that broke out in the Pariwan area of Kulgam on Wednesday night.
Three soldiers and two civilians were also injured in the exchange of fire, police said.
“One police personnel Sg Ct Rohit Chhib attained martyrdom, three Army soldiers got injured. Two civilians also got minor injuries. One terrorist of terror outfit JeM killed. Operation continues,” Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar tweeted on Wednesday night.
Rohit Chib was killed last night minutes after the police and army laid a siege to Pariwan village after intelligence pointed out that two militants were seen. Three armymen are being treated at the army hospital.
The operation started when the forces tried to move towards the structure where the militants had taken shelter but had to take evasive action and retaliate when a barrage of fire was directed at them. In the initial burst of firing, Chib, three soldiers and two civilians were injured. However, Chib succumbed to injuries later.
Kashmir Police Zone on its official Twitter handle wrote, “Killed JeM militant identified as Babar bhai of Pakistan, active since 2018 in the areas of Shopian-Kulgam. One AK rifle, one pistol and two grenades recovered,”.
The fierce gunfight between militants and the joint team of army and police is a sequel to Hassanpora encounter in the same district where two militants of Al-Badr were killed two days ago. So far, in nine encounters this year, 14 militants have been killed, seven of them are from Pakistan. The JeM and LeT have suffered reverses.