Gunfire between suspected terrorists and Indian security forces started in the early morning on Friday in northern Kashmir's Baramulla district. Troops have cordoned off the area and an operation is in progress.
#Encounter has started at #Yedipora #Pattan area of #Baramulla. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice
— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) September 4, 2020
Op Widdipura, Pattan, #Baramulla.
Joint operation was launched early morning today. Cordon was laid and contact was established. Firefight ensued. Joint operation in progress. #Kashmir@adgpi@NorthernComd_IA pic.twitter.com/054Re0uCp8
— Chinar Corps🍁 - Indian Army (@ChinarcorpsIA) September 4, 2020
There are unconfirmed reports that an army major was injured in the gunfire, but no official word on this has been made.
Local residents have been sent to secured area from Encounter site . #OperationYadipora in final stage pic.twitter.com/s5ChpTMyDW
— Utkarsh Singh (@utkarshs88) September 4, 2020
On 17 August, two soldiers from India's paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force and personnel from Jammu and Kashmir police were killed in an encounter, while two terrorists were eliminated. On 31 August, suspected militants threw a grenade at an army convoy travelling from Baramulla to Srinagar, and while the grenade missed its target, six civilians were injured.
Kashmir has been a hotbed of militancy since 1989. The federal government admitted in Parliament in August 2019 that over 40,000 people have lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir to militancy.
So far this year there have been 96 militant attacks in which 44 security personnel and 21 civilians were killed. Some 170 militants have also been eliminated.
The state was brought under federal administration in August 2019, rescinding Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, which had given a special status to Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi also divided the erstwhile state into two federally-administered territories.
