Two separate gunfights broke out between security forces and militants on Tuesday evening in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda and Kathua districts.
While Kathua lies along the International Border with Pakistan in the south of Jammu city, Doda is situated in the Chenab Valley region of the Jammu division.
In Kathua, two militants were killed in the gunfight in Saida Sukhal village, ANI reported. The area has been cordoned off.
One Central Reserve Police Force officer, Kabir Dass, who suffered bullet injuries in Kathua, died during medical treatment on Wednesday.
According to Additional Director-General of Police Anand Jain, the two militants entered the village and asked for water from a few houses. “[The] villagers grew suspicious and slammed the doors on them and a few raised [a] hue and cry,” Jain said.
The militants, in response, fired randomly in the air and also shot at a civilian passer-by, he added.
The Station House Officer Hiranagar and the sub-divisional police officer then reached the spot after which the gunfight ensued, Jain said. He added that one of the militants was killed while “lobbing a grenade” at the police.
A civilian named Omkar and his wife were also taken to a hospital, the police officer said. Omkar suffered an injury to the arm and is reported to be in stable condition, he said, adding that the wife is unhurt.
“This is a newly-infiltrated group which has come to this area,” Jain told reporters on Wednesday, ANI reported. “There is also a possibility of more terrorists.”
In Doda, a clash broke out between militants and security forces in the Chattergala area.
The gunfight began after a checkpost manned by personnel from the 4 Rashtriya Rifles and the police was attacked, The Indian Express reported. The gunfight was underway in the early hours of Wednesday.
Five Army personnel and a police officer were injured in the clash, The Hindu reported, quoting unidentified officials.
Militant outfit Kashmir Tigers, which has been linked to the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, claimed responsibility for the attack on the security forces in Doda, India Today reported.
The violence broke out two days after nine civilians were killed and 33 others injured in a militant attack on a passenger bus in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district on Sunday.
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