Two persons from outside Jammu and Kashmir and two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in the Valley on Saturday. One of the militants is said to be behind the murder of a policemen.

In Poonch, where anti-militancy operations in a forested area entered the sixth day, the bodies of two more Army jawans were recovered on Saturday.

On the civilian killings, an official said suspected militants opened fire at Arvind Kumar from Bihar, a roadside vendor, in the Eidgah area of the old city in Srinagar. The victim suffered bullet injuries in the head. “He was declared brought dead to a nearby hospital,” the official said.

Sajeer Ahmad, a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead in the Litter area of Pulwama.

Ninth civilian killing

This is the ninth civilian killing by militants in the Valley this month. Earlier, seven civilians, including a non-local Hindu vendor, a local Hindu teacher, a Sikh school principal and a Kashmiri Pandit chemist, were killed.

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J&K’s regional parties have condemned the killing. “This is yet another case of a civilian being targeted like this. All Arvind Kumar did was come to Srinagar in search of earning opportunities & it’s reprehensible that he was murdered,” National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah said.

Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti said, “Strongly condemn today’s attack on a street vendor who sadly succumbed. Such unfortunate incidents only reinforce the immediate need to reach out to the people of J&K by initiating a constructive dialogue.”

Peoples Conference chief Sajad Lone said, “This is pure terror. Yet again a golgappa vendor shot and killed. What a shame. How cowardly can it get.”

“A top LeT ‘commander’, Umer Mushtaq Khanday, was killed along with an associate in the gunfight in Pampore [in Pulwama]. The bodies were retrieved from the debris after eight hours of search,” Inspector-General of Police Vijay Kumar said.

Khanday, a resident of Tulagh in Pampor, was involved in the killing of two police personnel at Baghat Srinagar on February 19, he said.

A total of 13 militants had been killed in stepped-up operations against militants in Kashmir. These operations were launched immediately after militants killed seven civilians in the Valley.

Poonch operation

With the recovery of the bodies of two jawans, the death toll of soldiers has gone up to nine in two operations in Poonch since October 11. “Subedar Ajay Singh and Naik Harendra Singh were killed in action during search operations conducted by the Army along with the police in densely forested area of Nar Khas forest in Mendhar, District Poonch, on October 14,” an Army spokesman said. The twin operations were on.