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Two terrorists believed to be behind Sunday's killing of a Kashmiri Pandit were gunned down early on Tuesday in an encounter with security forces inside a mosque in south Kashmir's Pulwama district. An Indian Army jawan was also killed.
Security forces cordoned off an area in Padgampora village following a tip-off that at least two armed terrorists were hiding inside the mosque, officials said. The incident took place around 1.15 am.
"Security forces exercised extreme restraint given the fact that the two local militants were holed up inside a mosque. We were determined to ensure there was no damage to the mosque," a senior police officer said.
During the encounter, a soldier working with 55 Rashtriya Rifles received a bullet in his thigh, puncturing a main artery. There was heavy loss of blood and the soldier could not survive, the officer said.
Recapping what had happened, he said one of the terrorists, identified as Aqib Mustaq Bhat, was killed on the mosque premises.
The other, identified as Ajaz Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Trall near Pulwama, jumped out, possibly from a window, and took refuge in a house close to the mosque.
His location was tracked through technical surveillance and security forces trapped him inside the house before shooting him dead, the officer said.
On Sunday, Sanjay Sharma, a bank guard, was shot dead by terrorists barely 100 metres from his home in Achan in Pulwama when he was on his way to the local market.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Mahipal Soni/Rediff.com