Encounter ends in Jammu and Kashmir, 3 terrorists killed

The 48-hour siege of the five-storey Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute in Srinagar has ended with the killing of three suspected Lashkar–e-Taiba militants.  Three terrorists hiding in a massive government campus in Pampore on the outskirts of Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, have been killed after a 48-hour-long gun battle on February 22. During the battle three Army para commandos, including two Captains, and three others were killed. The security personnel are clearing and sanitising the EDI campus, which is spread over three buildings. Captain Pawan Kumar, a 10 Para Special Forces Officer, was killed while leading his men into the building. The CRPF’s DG Prakash Mishra suspected the LeT hand behind the Pampore attack. “From the modus-operandi, the attack seems to be orchestrated by LeT,” he said. The terrorists had used the buildings as a concrete bunker. They fired at security personnel from its cover and shifting location often. The Army used heavy arms in the operation. “It is a huge campus, it has three buildings. Each of the floors has to be cleared, room by room. Specialised units are required for it, we are in complete synergy with the CRPF,” General Officer Commanding 15 Corps, Lt Gen Satish Dua, said. The attacks on the Indian territory by Pakistan-based terror groups continue to be a hindrance in improving bilateral ties between India and Pakistan after the Pathankot terror attacks on January 2 froze the dialogue process.  With high level visits from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Pakistan in December 2015, the two countries looked set to resume the comprehensive bilateral dialogue. However, the Pathankot terror attacks, the testimony of David Coleman Headley on ISI’s role in supporting terror groups against India and the Pampore attacks now are likely to delay the dialogue process between the two countries.