The trauma of the five civilians who were held hostage for nearly 48 hours in a mosque in the Kulgam area of Jammu and Kashmir by three armed Hizbul Mujahideen militants ended on Monday late night when the Rashtriya Rifles and special operations group (SOG) of the J&K police killed the captors in a gun battle and freed the captives.  

According to the J&K police, while all the three militants holed up in the mosque were killed and the two captive civilians rescued and taken to safety, the entire area is now being searched from the security point of view.

The police said that the window panes of the mosque were smashed up in the gun fight between the security forces and the militants. Earlier on Monday, three of the five captives hood-winked the militants and made their way to freedom.

The security personnel including the Rashtriya Rifles and the Special Operation Group of J&K police had begun to lay seize of Palnu village on Kulgam district in south Kashmir since early Sunday following information that three armed Hizbul Mujahideen militants had holed up in the local mosque with five civilians.

Having surrounded the village, the security personnel hurled tear gas shells, compelling the three militants to come out of their hiding. Once the militants were out, the security personnel got them engaged in a gun battle killing two militants.

The police said that the third terrorist managed to flee the main mosque and took refuge in one of the minarets. He single-handedly continue the gun battle for another hour before, he too was gunned down by the security personnel brining an end to the two-day-long crisis.

According to DIG H K Lohia, before the gun battle ensued contact was established with the militants through the public address system and they had asked for a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner and other officials.

The forces even supplied them food materials according to their demands. Stating that none of the hostages were harmed, Lohia said that one civilian caught in the crossfire between the security personnel and the militants was injured on Sunday.

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