Srinagar: 30-hour encounter ends, two militants gunned down near CRPF camp

After failing to sneak into the 23 Battalion CRPF camp, the two militants had taken shelter in a multi-storey building near the camp. The holed-up militants gave tough resistance to the forces and the operation continued through the night.

“We could hear sound of bullets and blasts every hour during the night,’’ said Mohammad Aslam, who lives close to the encounter site.

The partially damaged building where the militants were holed up, in Srinagar on Tuesday. (Express Photo: Shuaib Masoodi)

DGP S P Vaid said the two militants were killed “without any collateral damage”.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, S P Pani termed the operation “clean”. ‘’After the militants were repulsed, they took shelter in the nearby building,’’ he said, adding that the operation was launched after all the civilians from neighbouring buildings were evacuated.

He said that as the area was cordoned and searches were on, firing started from the under construction five-storey building. “In the initial exchange of fire, one CRPF jawan was killed,’’ he said.

Pani said arms and ammunition were recovered after the militants were gunned down. ‘’Whatever we recovered suggested that the militants were from Lashkar.’’

Police have asked people not to venture close to the site as unexploded bombs or grenades could be lying in the vicinity.