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Siege ends in Shopian

By Our Staff Reporter

A soldier takes aim at a house in Shopian village of Kashmir where two militants were holding civilians hostage on Tuesday. The civilians, held captive for over 34 hours, were rescued by the security forces, who later blasted the house and recovered the bodies of the militants. — Photo: Nissar Ahmad

Srinagar Oct. 21. The siege lasting over 34 hours ended today in Shopian area of south Kashmir as the security forces rescued the civilians taken hostage and killed the militants holed up in a house. The meticulously planned operation to rescue the civilians started early this morning and ended at 11 a.m. with the security forces blowing up part of the besieged house.

On Monday, police cordoned off the house in Thariah Imam Sahib and asked the militants to surrender. The militants refused to do so and on demand, five persons, including a Muslim cleric, were sent in to negotiate with them. The militants wanted a safe passage. In the evening, the Army, which was called in, took command of the entire operation. For the whole night, security forces stepped up their guard and additional troops were rushed to the place. Sharp-shooters were deployed in the neighbouring buildings and the residents were asked to move out.

Early in the morning when announcements to surrender did not elicit any response from the militants, the security forces lobbed teargas shells on the two-storied house. Under the cover of smoke, nine civilians, including two women, escaped from the ground floor. At 9 a.m., immediately after the rescue operations, the forces launched their final assault on the house to flush out the militants and tried to storm the building.

There was an exchange of fire for nearly an hour and later an Improvised Explosive Device was planted and the structure of the house was brought down, killing the militants. The bodies of two militants were recovered, an army spokesman told The Hindu. One of the militants was identified as Abu Atiq Mohammad alias Abu Samaq belonging to the Jaish-e-Mohammad while the second, a local, was identified as Shakeel Ahmed.

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