Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including one that has long been on the radar of security forces, were trapped Monday amid a gunfight between militants and a joint team of security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama, sources said.
On Monday morning, a joint team comprising personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army, and paramilitary forces cordoned off Pulwama’s Nehama village after specific inputs about the presence of militants in the village.
As the joint team zeroed in on its target, the hiding militants opened fire and tried to break the security cordon, officials said, adding that the joint team then fired back, leading to a gunfight.
As the intermittent exchange of fire continued for some time, two houses caught fire as the security forces used heavy weapons to target the militant hideout.
Sources said two militants were trapped amid the gunfight, and identified them as Riyaz Ahmad Dar and Rayees – both residents of Kakapora village in Pulwama.
Dar had joined the militant ranks in September 2015 and has escaped security cordons several times in the past. Rayees joined the militants in 2021.
Police sources said that for some time now, there has not been an exchange of fire, and while the house that the militants were trapped in has caught fire, there is still no confirmation regarding whether they have been killed.