On Friday morning, security forces killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant in Kulgam, on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, putting an end to an overnight gunfight. The other militant is said to have gotten away. During the gunfight between militants and forces, two security personnel and two civilians were injured.
A major tragedy was averted, according to police, just in time for Independence Day. The national highway will be reopened to traffic soon, according to Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar.
Two LeT militants were said to be hiding in a building near the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Thursday, according to police. After firing at a Border Security Force convoy on the highway near Ma, the militants were trapped inside.
In Kashmir, militant attacks have increased in the run-up to the August 15 Independence Day celebrations.
In a grenade attack by suspected militants in Srinagar on Tuesday, ten civilians were injured. The militants attempted to throw the grenade at a paramilitary SSB bunker vehicle, but it exploded on the roadside.
Ghulam Rasool Dar, the BJP’s Kisan Morcha president in Kulgam, and his wife were killed by militants in the Lal Chowk area of Anantnag in south Kashmir on Monday.
Security has been beefed up around Kashmir ahead of Independence Day, with forces setting up additional checkpoints on major highways leading to rural areas.
