Militants kill retired soldier in southern Kashmir’s Kulgam

KULGAM — A retired Indian Army soldier was killed and his wife and a girl were injured in a militant attack in southern Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Monday.

A joint team of police, paramilitary forces, and the Army immediately cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to locate the attackers.

The incident occurred in the Behibagh area, where militants opened fire on Manzoor Ahmad Wagay and his family. They were quickly rushed to the hospital, and while Wagay succumbed to his injuries, his wife and relative’s girl were in stable condition.

An unnamed police official, quoted by the news agency KNT, said that Wagay was shot in the abdomen, while his wife and relative’s girl sustained leg injuries.

The victim Manzoor was a retired Lance Naik at 162 Territorial Army. The condition of his wife, Aina Akhtar (32), who has a left thigh bullet injury and his niece-in-law, Sana (13), who is suffering a right-hand injury, is stated to be stable.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed deep sorrow over the killing. He wrote on his social media handle, “I am deeply saddened by the tragic killing of ex-serviceman Manzoor Ahmad Wagay Sahab in Kulgam. My heartfelt condolences to his family and prayers for the swift recovery of his injured wife and daughter.”