Date:08/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/08/stories/2008100860171200.htm

National

2 militants from Kerala killed in Kupwara

Shujaat Bukhari

Fierce gunbattle with Army personnel

On a tip-off, Army cordons off Dever Migri forest area
Trying to contact Kerala police: Kashmir IG

Srinagar: Two militants from Kerala were killed in a fierce gunbattle in Jammu and Kashmir’s border district of Kupwara, the police said. However, it is not known to which outfit they belonged.

The police said the militants, identified by their aliases Yasin and Fayaz, were killed in the Dever Migri forest area after Army personnel cordoned it off on a tip-off that a group of ultras was hiding there.

Arms recovered

During the search operation by the troops, the militants opened fire on them, resulting in a fierce battle. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants’ person, the police said. The bodies were sent to Srinagar.

“We have killed two militants from Kerala in Lolab,” Senior Superintendent of Police Kupwara Uttam Chand said. Though he said they belonged to the Lashkar-e-Taiba, their real affiliation was being ascertained.

“We have ascertained their identities from the documents recovered from their possession,” Mr. Uttam Chand said.

It is for the first time during 20 years of militancy that non-Kashmiri residents were killed in a gunfight with the security forces in the Valley.

Media reports

Even as some newspapers reported that the two belonged to Indian Mujahideen, the outfit responsible for the recent bombings in Delhi and other cities, Inspector-General (Kashmir zone) B. Srinivas said they were trying to get in touch with the Kerala police. “Their credentials will be established after thorough investigations.”

A senior Army official told The Hindu that initially they had no idea of their identity. “We recovered documents relating to religious verses, which were translated into Malayalam. We also recovered electronic magazines from their possession.”