Army personnel take position during a search operation in Shopian and Pulwama on Thursday. Tribune Photo: Mohd Amin War

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 4

Militants attacked an Army patrol at Kellora village in Shopian today, leaving a civilian dead and three personnel injured, hours after the security forces had concluded a massive search operation in the district to flush out militants believed to be holed up inside homes.Hizbul militants opened fire on a patrol of 62 Rashtriya Rifles. “A civilian (driver) and two Army personnel were injured. The driver, Nazir Ahmed, died later in hospital,” a police official said. The militants struck when the troops were carrying out a “reverse sweep” of Chowdari Gund and Kellora villages this evening. “Reverse sweep” is a term used by the Army to describe a surprise check of a location combed earlier.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)Engaging 3,000 police, Army and CRPF personnel, the forces carried out searches in 20 villages of Shopian district, including Turkwangam and Sugan, where militants have recently been seen moving around freely.“Operation Clean-up”, launched after a spate of militant attacks in the area, and perhaps the biggest in more than a decade in the troubled Kashmir valley, was launched at 3 am, with forces on the ground backed by helicopters and drones. It ended at 2 pm. Door-to-door searches, a practice stopped in the late 1990s, were conducted. Villagers were asked to assemble at a common place and their houses thoroughly searched. There were reports of locals attacking policemen with stones in Turkawangam village. Jawans retreating after the searches too were stoned at various places.“Searches were carried out in areas where militants have been sighted shooting videos to lure local youths to militancy. Recently, a video showing 30 militants armed with rifles was shot in the area,” said a security officer. Post Hizb commander Burhan Wani’s death in an encounter last year, Shopian has witnessed several  violent incidents. In February this year, militants ambushed an Army patrol, killing three soldiers and wounding five.