Four cops killed in J&K militant attack

Srinagar: On a day of mixed fortunes, terrorists shot four policemen dead in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir barely hours after two dreaded Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including the Valley's oldest surviving terrorist, were gunned down by security forces in neighbouring Anantnag.

"Terrorists fired indiscriminately upon a police party at Arhama in district Shopian," a police spokesman said. The four ill-fated policemen were caught unawares as they were repairing their vehicle, he added.

Pools of blood were seen at several spots at the site where militants carried out the attack.

"The martyred policemen were identified as constable Ishfaq Ahmad Mir, constable Javaid Ahmad Bhat, constable Mohammad Iqbal Mir and SPO Adil Manzoor Bhat," the police spokesman said.

The terrorists mercilessly pumped bullets into the four policemen, leaving two dead on the spot. The other two were declared 'brought dead' by hospital authorities, an official said.

Director general of police S P Vaid and IGP Pani visited Shopian and paid tributes to the policemen who fell to the bullets of the terrorists.

The attack on policemen had followed an early morning encounter in which two militants, including Altaf Ahmad Dar, also known as 'Altaf Kachroo' alias Moin of the Hizbul Mujahideen, were killed in the Anantnag area.

Significantly, Dar was considered to be the 'chief architect' of attacks on policemen in the Valley.

The attack comes barely days after the new governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik, took charge.

In an interview to PTI, Malik had lauded the work done by the Jammu and Kashmir Police but also acknowledged that policemen were themselves being targeted.

"I will be addressing the difficulties faced by the police on a war footing. I met the home minister and requested for providing accommodation to them. He has agreed and we will work out the plan soon," Malik had said.

The governor said the state police has played a wonderful role in countering militancy. "They have been the prime targets of terrorists. They have been able to break the backbone of militancy and we owe it to them."

The day began with an encounter breaking out in Khanabal area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district when police and para-military forces cordoned off a house in Muniward village.

There was specific intelligence about the presence of Altaf Ahmad Dar, an official said.

"During the searches, terrorists fired on the police party, which retaliated leading to an encounter in which two terrorists were eliminated. They were identified as Altaf Ahmad Dar alias Ataf Kachroo alias Moin of Hawoora Mishipora and Omar Rashid Wani of Khudwani Kulgam," a police spokesman said.

It was a specific operation carried out swiftly by the security forces, inspector general of police (Kashmir Range) Swayam Prakash Pani said. "In the action both terrorists, who were involved in several cases of civilian atrocities and attacks on policemen, were eliminated," Pani added.

Dar, who hailed from Kulgam in south Kashmir, was operating as one of the most important terrorist commanders of proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen and had a long criminal record since 2007, a police spokesman said.

Considered as one of the oldest surviving terrorists in the area, Dar was involved in series of terror crimes including attacks on the security forces, killings of civilians and policemen in south Kashmir.

The police spokesman said Dar along with associate Yasin Itoo played a major role in instigating people during the 2016 unrest following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani.

The other militant killed in the encounter was Omar Rashid Wani, who was active since last year, the spokesman said. Wani was involved in many case of atrocities against civilians and attacks on security establishments, he added.

Wani was involved in the killing of policemen at Anantnag and recently carried an attack on CRPF in Srinagar and managed to escape from the Batmaloo encounter site recently.

The spokesman said though the two were part of the Hizbul Mujahideen, they kept close coordination with other outfits for unleashing terror.

Both bodies were laid to rest in which people participated in large numbers. Significantly, Lashker-e-Taiba terrorist Naveed Jhat, who made a dramatic escape from a hospital earlier this year, was also seen at the funeral of Dar, sources said.