Two militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), including owner of the car used in attack on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Pulwama area of Pulwama District in February 2019, were killed in an encounter in Anantnag area of Anantnag District in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on June 18, reports Daily Excelsior. An Army trooper was also killed. Security Forces (SFs) received inputs about presence of militants hiding in the village Marhama Bijbehara and they launched an operation to flush them out. As the militants were challenged during the operation, they opened fire on the troops leading to an encounter in which the two militants were killed. One of the killed militants has been identified as Sajad Ahmad Bhat who was the owner of the car that was used in Lethpora Pulwama attack in February this year. Sajad alias Afzal Guru had joined JeM’s Fidayeen (suicide) squad and days after the Lethpora attack the National Investigating Agency (NIA) was looking for him. The other militant has been identified as Tawseef Ahmad Bhat who was said to be his handler.
Meanwhile, body of a civilian was found near encounter site at Bidoora Achabal area of Anantnag district in J&K on June 18, reports Daily Excelsior. The body of the dead person, identified as Nasir Ahmad Mir (23), was found by people adjacent to the encounter site at Bidoora. Nasir, according to locals, was first year student of Degree College Anantnag. In the meanwhile, as soon as the news about Nasir spread in the area, shops and other business establishments were shut while transport was off the roads.
Separately, Havildar Amarjeet Kumar and Naik Ajit Kumar Sahoo who sustained injuries in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Arihal village of Pulwama District, succumbed to their injuries on June 18, reports Daily Excelsior. Earlier, South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) had reported that nine Army personnel and two civilians were injured when militants triggered an IED blast fitted in a vehicle near an Army patrol in Pulwama District of J&K on June 17.
In another incident, at least seven civilians were injured in a grenade attack by militants on a Police Station in Pulwama District of J&K on June 18, reports Daily Excelsior. The militants lobbed the grenade towards the Police Station, but it exploded on the roadside, causing injuries to seven passers-by, the officials said. The SFs have cordoned off the area to look for the attackers, the officials added.