The Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the ambush in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday that left three Army soldiers and a civilian dead. “A Hizbul squad carried out the attack. We congratulate it for the successful attack,” said Hizbul deputy chief Peer Saifullah Khalid and Mehmood Ghaznawi, according to The Hindu.
The group has also released a video, which shows a group of armed men celebrating the success of the attack, reported The Times of India. They are led by commander Zakir Mosa, who succeeded Burhan Wani as the groups commander after security forces gunned him down during an encounter in July 2016.
The Army is currently conducting search operations in the area. No arrests have been made yet, an intelligence officer told The Times of India. “Such incidents have only strengthened our resolve to continue relentless operations against Pakistan-sponsored anti-nationals in Kashmir,” the Army’s Northern Command said in a statement.
The soldiers have been identified as Lance Naik Ghulam Mohiuddin from Anantnag, Sreejith MJ from Kerala and Sepoy Vikas Singh Gurjar from Rajasthan. The civilian was killed by a stray bullet. The attack also left two Army officers, Lieutenant Colonel Mukesh Jha and Major Amardeep Singh injured.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has condemned the attack. “The unending cycle of violence has brought untold miseries to the people and collective efforts are needed to get the state out of the morass of death and destruction,” she said.
Thursday’s attack took place when an Army patrol party was returning from an operation in Kungoo village. This is the fourth major incident in the area in the last three weeks. On February 14, at least three soldiers were killed and 15 security personnel were injured during an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district. A militant was also killed during the encounter, which began after security personnel received intelligence inputs about the presence of gunmen in a residential part of the district.
On February 12, two security personnel, four militants and a civilian were killed in an encounter in a village in the state’s Kulgam district. On February 11, Pakistan claimed that three of its soldiers were killed by Indian forces in cross-border firing across the Line of Control.
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