Four civilians were killed and 20 injured as protesters clashed with security personnel in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday while an encounter was on with militants that left one soldier dead and two others wounded, the police said.

As the news of civilian deaths spread, protests broke out in several areas of north Kashmir including Baramulla, Bandipora and Sopore towns and several&nbsp;security personnel including the station house officer of Baramulla were injured in stone-pelting by protestors, a police official said.

Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Khudwani area of the district during the night following information about presence of militants there, news agency PTI reported quoting the official.

Three soldiers were injured in the initial exchange of fire with the militants out of which Sapper Sada Gunakara Rao (24), a resident of Andhra Pradesh, succumbed to injuries at 92 Base hospital of the Army here.

A group of people from Khudwani and adjoining areas started pelting stones on security personnel during the encounter today in order to facilitate the escape of the ultras, the official said, adding 24 civilians were injured in the ensuing violence, four of whom died.

"Four civilians died in the law and order situation that erupted in Khudwani area of Kulgam district when security forces were engaged in a counter-terrorism operation," the official said.

Three of the deceased youths were identified as Sarjeel Ahmad (25), Bilal Ahmad Tantray (16) and Faisal Ilahi (14).

The condition of the other injured persons is stated to be stable, he said.

The police official said that the gunbattle broke out between the militants and security forces in the early hours today.

While police and army officials maintain that the search operation was in progress, sources said the security forces withdrew following the clashes.

The sources said two to three militants managed to escape from the cordoned area.

Meanwhile, separatists under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) have called for a general strike tomorrow against the civilian deaths.

(With PTI inputs)&nbsp;

Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Khudwani area of the district during the night following information about presence of militants there, the official said.

Four civilians were killed and 20 injured as protesters clashed with security personnel in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday while an encounter was on with militants that left one soldier dead and two others wounded, the police said. As the news of civilian deaths spread, protests broke out in several areas of north Kashmir including Baramulla, Bandipora and Sopore towns and several security personnel including the station house officer of Baramulla were injured in stone-pelting by protestors, a police official said. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Khudwani area of the district during the night following information about presence of militants there, news agency PTI reported quoting the official. Three soldiers were injured in the initial exchange of fire with the militants out of which Sapper Sada Gunakara Rao (24), a resident of Andhra Pradesh, succumbed to injuries at 92 Base hospital of the Army here. A group of people from Khudwani and adjoining areas started pelting stones on security personnel during the encounter today in order to facilitate the escape of the ultras, the official said, adding 24 civilians were injured in the ensuing violence, four of whom died. "Four civilians died in the law and order situation that erupted in Khudwani area of Kulgam district when security forces were engaged in a counter-terrorism operation," the official said. Three of the deceased youths were identified as Sarjeel Ahmad (25), Bilal Ahmad Tantray (16) and Faisal Ilahi (14). The condition of the other injured persons is stated to be stable, he said. The police official said that the gunbattle broke out between the militants and security forces in the early hours today. While police and army officials maintain that the search operation was in progress, sources said the security forces withdrew following the clashes. The sources said two to three militants managed to escape from the cordoned area. Meanwhile, separatists under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) have called for a general strike tomorrow against the civilian deaths. (With PTI inputs)

Jammu and Kashmir encounter: Army jawan killed, 4 civilians die in ensuing clashes

Twenty people were killed in Kashmir on Sunday. Thirteen of them were militants, killed in three separate encounters, giving the security forces their biggest success in over a decade.&nbsp

Three Army men also lost their lives in the operations, but it was the deaths of four civilians and the injuries to 55 people in the crossfire between the security forces and militants and in clashes with the forces that had the Jammu and Kashmir government worried.

It all started at midnight when the sounds of gunfire were in heard in Anantnag's Diyalgam village, in where an encounter broke out between security forces and militants. One Hizbul militant was killed and another captured alive.&nbsp

The operation started at around 12.45 am, concluded at 3 in the morning.&nbsp

The Anantnag SSP, who was leading the operations, said he had tried to get both militants to surrender, but one of them fired and the security forces retaliated.&nbsp

" I bought the family of both the militants who were in same locality where militants were trapped, they even made appeal to them to surrender and I also assured them that if they surrender they will not be harmed, we delayed operation almost by about 1 hour but when one of them fired on us we retaliated and in the encounter we killed one but were successful in capturing one alive," the police officer said.

Post-encounter searches were still on in Diyalgam when the focus shifted to the militant bastion and apple town of Shopian.&nbsp

The security forces had managed to cordon off dozens of militants in two places.&nbsp

The first strike was on the Dragad-Sugan village where, intelligence inputs said, as many as 11 militants were hiding in a house. Sources said the militants belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar e Taiba, and that it was a scheduled meeting between the two groups to chalk out a future strategy.&nbsp

The militants and the security forces were soon exchanging heavy fire.&nbsp

It is believed four of the 11 militants, including top Lashkar commander "Zinat-ul-Islam", were able to escape but the other 7 were killed in a five-hour-long gun battle. Two civilians were shot in the exchange of fire, with one of them falling to his injuries later.&nbsp

They seven slain militants were identified as local Hizbul militants Adil Ahmed Thoker of Humhuna, Nazim Dar of Nagbal, Ubaid Shafi Malla of Trenz, Yawar Itoo of Safanagri-Zainapora, Rayees Ahmed Thoker of Padarpora, Ashfaq &nbspMalik of Pinjura, and ZubairTuray of the main town of Shopian. All fo them were from Shopian district.&nbsp

Of the seven, Zubair Turray and Ashfaq Malik were A++ category militants, the rest being classified as C category.

At the same time, another bloody encounter was in progress just a few kilometres away in Kachdoora village as were heavy clashes between the police-CRPF and locals.&nbsp

In the meantime, the top brass of the security forces including the J&K DGP, GOC 15 Corps Army and IG CRPF held a press conference giving details of the ongoing encounters.&nbsp

They said eight militants, two civilians, and two Army soldiers had been killed in the three encounters. They added that 25 people had received pellet injuries, and 6 had received bullet injuries.&nbsp

They also claimed that two of the militants killed had been involved in the killing of Lt Umar Fayaz in Shopian in May 2016. "Two of the slain militants were involved in the killing of young army officer Umar Fayyaz in Shopian in May last and today we avenged that," said Lt Gen A K Bhatt, GoC 15 Corps".&nbsp

At the same press conference, Vaid and the IG CRPF again appealed to the people, especially parents, to keep their sons away from encounter sites. They added however that they would not shy away taking strict action against whomsoever disturbs the operations and made clear that such anti-militancy operation would continue. They also, again, urged the local militants to surrender

"I will like to make it clear that our operations against militants will not stop,” IG CRPF Zulfiqar Hassan said.&nbsp

“It is painful for all of us to see the loss of young lives. I appeal to the parents of boys who have taken the wrong path that they should convince their wards to leave the path of violence,” said Vaid.

The toll from the three encounters later went up to 20, when Vaid confirmed that five bodies of militants had been recovered from the Kachdoora encounter site. He added that one Army soldier had died from his injuries and that two more civilians had died in the clashes.

"We have recovered 5 militant bodies from debris of kachdoora encounter site, and two more civilians have died in clashes and its unfortunate that we lost one more soldier," said Vaid.

But massive protests broke out in south Kashmir, largely in Shopian, and in Srinagar as soon as news spread that all the militants gunned down had been local Kashmiris. The four civilian deaths only added to the anger.&nbsp

Smelling trouble, the authorities suspended mobile internet services across the Valley to stop rumour mongering train services was also suspended.&nbsp

The Joint Resistance Leadership meanwhile called for two days of shutdown in the Kashmir valley.&nbsp 
A statement was issued by Syed Ali Shah Gillani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yaseen malik, saying: "Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has asked people to suspend business and other activities for today and tomorrow, and offer funeral prayers in absentia at 4 pm across Kashmir valley".&nbsp

As soon the statement was published, exams which had been scheduled for Monday were postponed, with the authorities ordering schools and colleges to remain closed. Keeping the strike call in view, restrictions were imposed in the seven police station areas of Srinagar and in the Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantnag district of south Kashmir.&nbsp

Thirteen of them were militants, killed in three separate encounters, giving the security forces their biggest success in over a decade

Twenty people were killed in Kashmir on Sunday. Thirteen of them were militants, killed in three separate encounters, giving the security forces their biggest success in over a decade. Three Army men also lost their lives in the operations, but it was the deaths of four civilians and the injuries to 55 people in the crossfire between the security forces and militants and in clashes with the forces that had the Jammu and Kashmir government worried. It all started at midnight when the sounds of gunfire were in heard in Anantnag's Diyalgam village, in where an encounter broke out between security forces and militants. One Hizbul militant was killed and another captured alive. The operation started at around 12.45 am, concluded at 3 in the morning. The Anantnag SSP, who was leading the operations, said he had tried to get both militants to surrender, but one of them fired and the security forces retaliated. " I bought the family of both the militants who were in same locality where militants were trapped, they even made appeal to them to surrender and I also assured them that if they surrender they will not be harmed, we delayed operation almost by about 1 hour but when one of them fired on us we retaliated and in the encounter we killed one but were successful in capturing one alive," the police officer said. Post-encounter searches were still on in Diyalgam when the focus shifted to the militant bastion and apple town of Shopian. The security forces had managed to cordon off dozens of militants in two places. The first strike was on the Dragad-Sugan village where, intelligence inputs said, as many as 11 militants were hiding in a house. Sources said the militants belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar e Taiba, and that it was a scheduled meeting between the two groups to chalk out a future strategy. The militants and the security forces were soon exchanging heavy fire. It is believed four of the 11 militants, including top Lashkar commander "Zinat-ul-Islam", were able to escape but the other 7 were killed in a five-hour-long gun battle. Two civilians were shot in the exchange of fire, with one of them falling to his injuries later. They seven slain militants were identified as local Hizbul militants Adil Ahmed Thoker of Humhuna, Nazim Dar of Nagbal, Ubaid Shafi Malla of Trenz, Yawar Itoo of Safanagri-Zainapora, Rayees Ahmed Thoker of Padarpora, Ashfaq &nbspMalik of Pinjura, and ZubairTuray of the main town of Shopian. All fo them were from Shopian district. Of the seven, Zubair Turray and Ashfaq Malik were A++ category militants, the rest being classified as C category. At the same time, another bloody encounter was in progress just a few kilometres away in Kachdoora village as were heavy clashes between the police-CRPF and locals. In the meantime, the top brass of the security forces including the J&K DGP, GOC 15 Corps Army and IG CRPF held a press conference giving details of the ongoing encounters. They said eight militants, two civilians, and two Army soldiers had been killed in the three encounters. They added that 25 people had received pellet injuries, and 6 had received bullet injuries. They also claimed that two of the militants killed had been involved in the killing of Lt Umar Fayaz in Shopian in May 2016. "Two of the slain militants were involved in the killing of young army officer Umar Fayyaz in Shopian in May last and today we avenged that," said Lt Gen A K Bhatt, GoC 15 Corps". At the same press conference, Vaid and the IG CRPF again appealed to the people, especially parents, to keep their sons away from encounter sites. They added however that they would not shy away taking strict action against whomsoever disturbs the operations and made clear that such anti-militancy operation would continue. They also, again, urged the local militants to surrender "I will like to make it clear that our operations against militants will not stop,” IG CRPF Zulfiqar Hassan said. “It is painful for all of us to see the loss of young lives. I appeal to the parents of boys who have taken the wrong path that they should convince their wards to leave the path of violence,” said Vaid. The toll from the three encounters later went up to 20, when Vaid confirmed that five bodies of militants had been recovered from the Kachdoora encounter site. He added that one Army soldier had died from his injuries and that two more civilians had died in the clashes. "We have recovered 5 militant bodies from debris of kachdoora encounter site, and two more civilians have died in clashes and its unfortunate that we lost one more soldier," said Vaid. But massive protests broke out in south Kashmir, largely in Shopian, and in Srinagar as soon as news spread that all the militants gunned down had been local Kashmiris. The four civilian deaths only added to the anger. Smelling trouble, the authorities suspended mobile internet services across the Valley to stop rumour mongering train services was also suspended. The Joint Resistance Leadership meanwhile called for two days of shutdown in the Kashmir valley. A statement was issued by Syed Ali Shah Gillani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yaseen malik, saying: "Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) has asked people to suspend business and other activities for today and tomorrow, and offer funeral prayers in absentia at 4 pm across Kashmir valley". As soon the statement was published, exams which had been scheduled for Monday were postponed, with the authorities ordering schools and colleges to remain closed. Keeping the strike call in view, restrictions were imposed in the seven police station areas of Srinagar and in the Shopian, Pulwama, Kulgam and Anantnag district of south Kashmir.

A day in Kashmir: 20 killed including 4 civilians, 55 injured

A suicide car bomb targeting a foreign forces convoy rocked eastern Kabul early Friday, killing at least one civilian and injuring fourteen others in an area where many expatriates reside, AFP reported quoting Afghan interior ministry.

Local media showed extensive damage to the facades of nearby houses, and witnesses reported a strong explosion. Security forces could be seen rushing to the scene as passers-by helped move the wounded.

A horse was also badly injured in the blast and had to be shot dead in the street, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

&quot;Unfortunately around 9:00 am, a car bombing took place in (the) Qabil Bay area of Kabul. The target of the attack was a foreign forces convoy,&quot; ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, giving the toll and adding that police are investigating.

His deputy, Nasrat Rahimi, said it was not clear if there were foreign casualties following the blast.

No group immediately claimed the attack, which is the latest to hit Kabul, one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians as both the Taliban and the expanding Islamic State group step up their assaults on the city.

The bombing also comes just days after Afghan president Ashraf Ghani unveiled a plan for peace talks with the Taliban, including a proposal to eventually recognise them as a political party.

Ghani revealed his plans in a speech during international peace talks in Kabul this week that went better than expected, with officials in Washington dare to hold out hope that the longest war in US history may be heading to a negotiated settlement.

US ambassador in Kabul John R. Bass hailed Ghani&#39;s &quot;very courageous stand&quot; and his &quot;commitment to pursue a peaceful settlement through talks&quot; after more than 16 years of conflict, as officials said the onus was now on the Taliban to respond.

Before Ghani&#39;s speech, the militants had called for direct talks with the US. They have not yet offered a full response to the president&#39;s proposal, but the apparent openness to negotiations on both sides has sparked cautious optimism.

More than 16,000 foreign troops are deployed in Afghanistan under the NATO mandate, most Americans who supervise Afghan forces and conduct counter-terrorism operations.

Since November, the US military has increased air raids against Taliban positions, training camps and heroin laboratories, which are an important source of revenue for the group.

Despite the optimism, Kabul remains on high alert, fearing further violence. American officials are also braced for more fighting in spring.

Since mid-January, militants have stormed a luxury hotel, bombed a crowded street, raided a military compound and launched a suicide attack during morning rush hour in the capital, killing more than 130 people.

(With AFP inputs)&nbsp;

Ministry of Interior's deputy spokesman Nusrat Rahimi said the explosion targeted a foreign forces convoy which was passing through the Qabel Bai area in Kabul’s PD9.

A suicide car bomb targeting a foreign forces convoy rocked eastern Kabul early Friday, killing at least one civilian and injuring fourteen others in an area where many expatriates reside, AFP reported quoting Afghan interior ministry. Local media showed extensive damage to the facades of nearby houses, and witnesses reported a strong explosion. Security forces could be seen rushing to the scene as passers-by helped move the wounded. A horse was also badly injured in the blast and had to be shot dead in the street, an AFP reporter at the scene said. "Unfortunately around 9:00 am, a car bombing took place in (the) Qabil Bay area of Kabul. The target of the attack was a foreign forces convoy," ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, giving the toll and adding that police are investigating. His deputy, Nasrat Rahimi, said it was not clear if there were foreign casualties following the blast. No group immediately claimed the attack, which is the latest to hit Kabul, one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians as both the Taliban and the expanding Islamic State group step up their assaults on the city. The bombing also comes just days after Afghan president Ashraf Ghani unveiled a plan for peace talks with the Taliban, including a proposal to eventually recognise them as a political party. Ghani revealed his plans in a speech during international peace talks in Kabul this week that went better than expected, with officials in Washington dare to hold out hope that the longest war in US history may be heading to a negotiated settlement. US ambassador in Kabul John R. Bass hailed Ghani's "very courageous stand" and his "commitment to pursue a peaceful settlement through talks" after more than 16 years of conflict, as officials said the onus was now on the Taliban to respond. Before Ghani's speech, the militants had called for direct talks with the US. They have not yet offered a full response to the president's proposal, but the apparent openness to negotiations on both sides has sparked cautious optimism. More than 16,000 foreign troops are deployed in Afghanistan under the NATO mandate, most Americans who supervise Afghan forces and conduct counter-terrorism operations. Since November, the US military has increased air raids against Taliban positions, training camps and heroin laboratories, which are an important source of revenue for the group. Despite the optimism, Kabul remains on high alert, fearing further violence. American officials are also braced for more fighting in spring. Since mid-January, militants have stormed a luxury hotel, bombed a crowded street, raided a military compound and launched a suicide attack during morning rush hour in the capital, killing more than 130 people. (With AFP inputs)

One killed, 14 injured as Kabul car bomb targets foreign forces: Interior Ministry

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