3 militants killed in encounter in J-K’s Shopian, combing ops on: Police

A gunbattle broke out on Monday afternoon between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Kashmir, police said.

Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Monday, Jammu and Kashmir’s top cop said.

Security forces during an encounter in Shopian, in south Kashmir, on Monday. (ANI/Twitter)

In a series of updates on Twitter, director general of Jammu and Kashmir police, Shesh Paul Vaid confirmed the three death.

So far, one militant’s body and two weapons were recovered in the combing operation, ANI reported.

Security forces surrounded Gatipora village in Shopian in the afternoon after receiving information that a group of militants were holed-up in a house.

“When security forces closed in on the house in which the militants were hiding, the militants opened fire at them, triggering a gunfight,” a police official said earlier in the evening while confirming the first militant’s death.

Earlier in the day, a top Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militant, believed to be the mastermind behind the recent suicide attacks in the restive state, was killed in a brief gunfight with security forces in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

Police said the militant was identified as Khalid – the operational commander of the Pakistan-based militant group.