The hostage, Atif Mir, a student of sixth standard, was charred to death along with the two LeT terrorists, po... Read More

SRINAGAR: A 12-year-old boy who was mercilessly used as a human shield by two terrorists even as emotional family members made several appeals to them to release him during a gunfight with security forces, was killed in Kashmir’s Bandipora on Friday. The two Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives from Pakistan were among eight terrorists killed in four different operations across the valley in the last 24 hours.

The hostage, Atif Mir, a student of sixth standard, was charred to death along with the two LeT terrorists, police sources said.

In a video which went viral on social media, a neighbour of the child’s family, 70-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Dar, was heard pleading on a loudspeaker, “Is this the jihad you claim to follow? It is not jihad but jaahiliyat (ignorance). Jihad doesn’t allow you to use any child as a shield.”

“You have chosen the path of armed struggle yourself, so fight it on your own. Don’t use innocent children as your shield,” he appealed to the terrorists who were holed up in a house at Hajin, Bandipora.

While Atif’s mother Atiqa helplessly went to the house to beg the terrorists to spare her son, his aunt Sharifa Begum made an appeal on loudspeaker. The terrorists were not moved by emotional pleas of either.

Police sources said the two terrorists, Ali Bhai and Hubaib Bhai, had forcibly taken shelter in the house of two brothers Mohammad Shafi Mir and Abdul Hamid Mir on Thursday evening and even eaten their food. However, soon after, security forces cordoned off the house and evacuated the family along with two daughters. The terrorists, however, took the little boy hostage and used him as a shield.

SSP Bandipora Rahul Malik said that Ali Bhai wanted to forcibly marry one of the girls of the Mir family but the family didn’t allow the terrorists to meet her.

They were adamant to meet the girl and as a result held hostage Atif and his uncle Abdul Hamid. While Hamid managed to escape, Atif was used as a human shield.

“The family members had sent the girl to some other place. Ali wanted them to bring back the girl. While this tussle was going on inside the house, we received the input,” SSP Rahul said.

He said security forces adopted various methods to rescue the boy. “We made announcements through microphones. We also used local Auqaf committees and family members for the release of hostages,” the SSP said.

Ali Bhai was involved in many civilian killings and he had a trademark of keeping a long knife which police recovered from his possession.

In three other counter-insurgency operations in the last 24 hours, six terrorists were killed while seven jawans were injured.

Terrorists fired at forces and took shelter inside an under-construction school building in Bandi Payeen village in Barmaulla district on Thursday morning.

An Army officer and two soldiers were injured in the encounter, Army said. In the evening, the forces blasted the school building, killing two militants. Officials said their identity is yet to be established.

The third gunfight raged in Warpora village of Sopore where, as per police, terrorists opened fire and hurled a grenade on forces during a search operation and injured two policemen, including SHO of Dangiwacha , Muddasir Geelani. Two terrorists were killed in the gunfight.

In another encounter, two terrorists were killed at Gadapora village in south Kashmir's Shopian district .



In Video: Bandipora encounter: Terrorists held minor as hostage, use him as a human shield against army