Two civilians, one of them a minor, were held hostage by terrorists during an encounter in Hajin

Jammu and Kashmir police said while one civilian has been rescued with the assistance of security forces and community members, the minor is still being kept hostage by the militants.

Two civilians, one of them a minor, were held hostage by militants during an encounter in Hajin of Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Thursday.

Jammu and Kashmir police said while one civilian has been rescued with the assistance of security forces and community members, the minor is still being kept hostage by the militants.

“Efforts are on to rescue the civilian, reportedly a minor kept as hostage by terrorists,” J&K Zone Police tweeted. This is the second encounter that has broken out in Kashmir since Thursday morning.

A gun battle between militants and security forces in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district is presently underway. A cordon and search operation was launched at Kalantara area on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, police located the militants and the encounter started.

Meanwhile, there were two separate instances of a militant attack in Sopore of Baramulla district. Militants lobbed a grenade on a police party, injuring two cops, including an officer.

“In this incident, SHO Dangiwacha Muddasir Ahmad and his escort personnel received injuries. Both the injured have been shifted to hospital for medical attention,” a statement issued by J&K Police said.

In the other incident, also in Sopore, a CRPF spokesman said suspected militants fired a few rounds at a CRPF post in the main Chowk on Thursday morning.