The Wire Staff 
Srinagar: A suspected militant was gunned down in an ongoing encounter on the outskirts of the summer capital Srinagar of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday (December 3), officials said.
A senior police officer said that the encounter broke out on Monday evening (December 2) following intelligence inputs about the presence of a group of heavily armed militants in a forested area in Dachigam which falls in the upper reaches of Srinagar’s Harwan locality where militant activity has been reported frequently in the past few weeks.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vidhi Kumar Birdi told reporters on the evening of December 2 that some gunshots were heard in the upper reaches of Harwan following which a search operation was launched in the area, “Additional reinforcements have been rushed to the area,” he said.
The officer said that as the security forces laid a cordon around the suspected hideout, the militants opened fire which was retaliated. “The exchange of fire continued intermittently throughout the night and one militant has been gunned down so far,” the officer said, adding that the identity of the militant has not been ascertained so far.
Sources said that two to three militants reportedly affiliated with The Resistance Front (TRF) were believed to be hiding in the area. However, there was no official confirmation about it. “The operation is underway,” the officer said.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, J&K Police said: “On 2nd December 2024, based on specific intelligence input, a joint operation was launched by Indian Army & J&K Police at Harwan, Srinagar. During search initial contact was established. Operation is in progress.”
According to reports, the slain militant has been identified as Junaid Ramzan Bhat, who was affiliated with The Resistance Front which officials believe is an offshoot of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Reports said that he was wanted in connection with the attack on the base of Apco Infra in Ganderbal which claimed the lives of seven construction workers, including a doctor, on October 20, 2024. The firm has been constructing the Z-Morh tunnel which falls on the strategic Srinagar-Ladakh highway.
Harwan falls in the lap of Zabarwan hills which connect Srinagar with south Kashmir’s Pulwama and Anantnag districts. Due to its thick vegetation, the area, which is extremely popular among hikers due to its lush green meadows and dense forest cover, offers natural hideouts for militants.
Harwan has also been used as a transit route by militants to shuttle between Srinagar and south Kashmir. In the recent past, there have been a number of encounters between militants and security forces in the area.
Last month, security forces exchanged gunfire with a group of militants in Harwan locality during a cordon and search operation. However, the militants later managed to escape and the operation had to be called off.
In the aftermath of the latest encounter, officials said that security has been stepped up in Srinagar.
The encounter in Srinagar took place days after a Lashkar-e-Toiba commander from Pakistan was gunned down by security forces in the city’s Khanyar locality on November 2. A day later, suspected militants hurled a grenade at a busy market in Srinagar, which resulted in the killing of a woman while at least 10 more civilians were injured.
Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed a spike in militancy-related incidents over the last three years with armed forces and civilians increasingly becoming targets of attacks by suspected militants. These attacks have continued unabated even as the Union territory got its first elected government in October.
Note: This article was updated since publication with input on the militant killed.