Srinagar,
The nearly 30-hour-long gunfight in Srinagar city ended today with the killing of two holed up militants.

The two militants were hiding in an under-construction multi-storey building at Karan Nagar after they failed to attack a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in the wee hours on Monday. The government had imposed restrictions in the old city to avoid any law and order situation during the anti-militancy operation.

“The encounter concluded this afternoon. In the operation, two terrorists were killed. Their identity is being ascertained. The incriminating material we recovered from them suggests they were from the Lashkar-e-Toiba,” Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Swayam Prakash Pani said.

During the encounter, one CRPF man was killed and one policeman suffered bullet injuries but his condition is stable.

The IGP said the operation was carried out in the congested locality and a lot of civilian population was around.

“While the operation was planned immediately, the civilian population was moved from the area and we thank the citizens of Srinagar city for cooperating with us. Because of the help of the community, we could take out the residents from the encounter site. Subsequently, a deliberate assault line was planned by the CRPF and Special Operation Group of the J&K Police. There was no collateral damage during the operation,” he said.

Sources privy to the operation said the highly-trained militants were shifting from one room to another and that prolonged the operation.

“We fired a number of rockets to break the walls of the building. Once we were successful in it, the militant movement was restricted and they took position on the ground floor. At 11 am, we were able to neutralise the first militant,” a security official said.

The exchange of fire continued and another militant was injured.

“At around 1 am, the final assault was launched inside the building and the second militant was killed an hour later,” he said.

Two AK-47 rifles, eight AK-47 magazines and other war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site.