At least 3 killed, 2 surrender in Kashmir encounters

Three militants were killed and another injured in an encounter in the southern district of Pulwama, according to police in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The local police said on Saturday that in another incident two militants allegedly associated with the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit had surrendered to senior officers after an exchange of fire late Friday in the Lelhar village of the Batapora area in the same district.

The two separate shootings were the first in Indian-administered Kashmir this year.

Earlier, three militants were killed in a brief shootout on Friday evening in the Mandoora village of the Tral area. The three were identified as Waris Hassan, Arif Bashir, and Ahtishamul Haq, all locals and members of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, Kashmir region police chief Vijay Kumar said in an official statement.

The two shootings took place after a gap of 30 days. On Dec. 30, the government forces in Kashmir claimed that they had killed three "militants" in Srinagar, the region's main city.

But their families later alleged that a "fake encounter" was staged by the security forces and killed Athar Mushtaq Wani (16), Zubair Ahmad Lone (22) and Aijaz Ahmad Ganai (24). Two of them were students, their families said, and one was a laborer.

On the next day, the three killed men's families organized demonstrations against government forces demanding return of their relatives' bodies.

Kumar in Friday's media briefing said they have had enough evidence that the boys who were killed in the Srinagar encounter were involved in the militancy and the police will put it before the court.

Kumar added that the security agencies in the region are trying to persuade local youth to lay down their arms.

Before the pandemic, a large number of people used to gather in Kashmir to bury their dead. But now police allow only the families of those killed to attend their last rights and bury them in isolated places.

According to official figures, 225 militants including many top commanders were killed in 103 operations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir last year.

- Disputed region

Kashmir is held by India and Pakistan in parts and claimed both in full. A small sliver of Kashmir is also held by China.

Since they were partitioned in 1947, the two countries have fought three wars -- in 1948, 1965, and 1971 -- two of them over Kashmir.

Some Kashmiri groups in Jammu and Kashmir have been fighting against Indian rule for independence, or unification with neighboring Pakistan.

According to several human rights organizations, thousands of people have reportedly been killed in the conflict in the region since 1989.