Anantnag: At least four civilians were injured when an explosive material went off near the site of the military operation in Sirhama area of Bijbehara in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Witnesses said that that after the operation was over, people had gathered near the site when an explosion happened, injuring two civilians.
The injured were taken to the hospital for treatment and are said to be in a stable condition.
One house was also damaged in the military operation in which two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants were killed.
A police official said that the incident took place as a group of people were clearing debris from the house razed to the ground during the gunfight where two militants were killed.
“The banners were already erected there, appealing people not to venture near the spot. While we sanitized the area, there seems that some explosive had been left unnoticed, which these persons fiddled with, leading to the blast,” the official was quoted by news agency KNO as having said.
Officials reported that two militants of LeT were killed in the gunfight, including one non-local militant & one local from Pulwama.
Official sources further said that operation was suspended on Thursday late evening due to darkness, however the cordon around the suspected house was kept intact.
The operation was resumed with first light of the day today.
Earlier, according to reports, a joint team of Police, Army’s 03 Rashtriya Rifles and Central Reserve Police Force launched a cordon-and-search-operation in Sirhama.
“As the joint team encircled the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them. The fire was retaliated by the joint team, triggering off a gunfight,” officials said.
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