Srinagar Feb 11: At least 61 people including civilians, militants and forces personnel have been killed in the state in different incidents since January 1 as of Sunday.
While 16 militants were killed by the government forces, as many as 17 civilians and 28 forces personnel also lost their lives during the period.
The year started on a deadly note as a 36-hour long gunfight inside Lethpora army camp resulted into the killing of five CRPF personnel and three militants.
Significantly, the gunfight witnessed Kashmiri militants being part of a Fidayeen attack in the valley for the first time.
An officer was among the four cops killed in a powerful IED blast at main Chowk Sopore on January 6.
Government forces on January 8 claimed to have killed a militant in a brief gunfight at Patrigam village of Chadoora town in central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
While a militant was killed in a gunfight in South Kashmir’s Kokernag area, forces shot dead a civilian in Khudwani area of Kulgam the same day.
On January 15, the government forces claimed to have killed 5 ‘fidayeen’ militants in Baramulla’s Uri area.
Besides killing two militants in a gunfight, forces on January 24, also shot dead a civilian and critically injured two teenage girls in Chaigund village of Shopian district. One of the two critically injured girls succumbed to injuries weeks later on Saturday.
A 10-year-old boy, too, who was injured on January 25 by an unused shell used by the forces in the January 24 gunfight passed away on February 1.
Encounters aside, army on January 27 shot dead 2 youth and injured as many by opening fire upon them in Ganowpora village of Shopian district after the youth refused to remove banners of militants. One of the injured youth in the army firing passed away a day later.
While managing to free their associate from forces’ custody inside the hospital premises, militants on February 6 killed two cops who were accompanying the detained militant to government SMHS hospital for the latter’s checkup.
In the latest fidayeen attack on the Sunjwan army camp, which started on Saturday, 5 soldiers, at least 3 militants and a civilian were killed as of Sunday afternoon.
The numbers also include the casualties in the cross-border firing between the Indian and Pakistani troopers.
In at least 8 cross-border firing incidents since Jan 1 so far, 20 people including 12 troopers and 8 civilians have been killed.
While a minor girl was among the civilians killed in the state, 2 civilians were also reported to have been killed in the Pakistan-administered Kashmir (PaK).
While a 25-year old youth, a resident of Unsoo village in Handwara was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Sopore on January 3, the BSF, on January 4 claimed to have shot dead an “intruder” on the International Border in Jammu.
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