In what was one of the biggest anti-terror operations in recent years in the state, at least 20 people were killed and over 50 others injured in south Kashmir's Shopian and Anantnag districts on Sunday. Those dead include three Army personnel, four civilians, and 13 terrorists. Police said as reports of a pre-dawn crackdown by a joint team of the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force spread, clashes erupted between the security forces and civilians who tried to shield the terrorists.
Four civilians were killed in retaliatory firing by security forces. Some of them received pellet injuries and were admitted to hospital in Shopian. The encounters took place at three different areas, Draggad, Kachdoora, and Dialgam. Seven terrorists were killed in Draggad, five at Kachdoora, and one at Dialgam. J&K DGP SP Vaid said a terrorist surrendered when his parents appealed him at the encounter site. A major success was when security forces eliminated two terrorists, identified as Ahmad Malik and Rayees Thokar. The two had abducted and killed Lt Ummer Fayaz in May 2017, when the Army Officer had gone to his hometown in Shopian to attend a wedding.
Vaid said an SSP made special efforts to persuade the terrorists to surrender at Dialgam by calling their family members to ask them to surrender. “Instead of surrendering, one of the holed up terrorists opened fire, prompting security forces to open fire and kill him,” Vaid said.
UK's Kashmir Voice International (KVI) strongly condemned the killings of locals by the armed forces. Releasing press statement, Prof. M A Raina, chairman, said, “India is determined in continuing its policy of repression and unabated killings in Kashmir. This shows India is out to take revenge on Kashmiris for their demanding the right to freedom. It seems that there is a hidden agenda of annihilating the Kashmir population which is clear by the pursuit of everyday killings.” He added, “It is highly shocking that the right thinking Indians do not stand up and ask government to engage Kashmiris for a political solution. Kashmir is not to be conquered but need to be understood. The experience of nearly three decades now, shows that massacres and unabated killings have failed to restore peace in Kashmir.”
