JeM terrorists, who killed BJP leader, gunned down in J&K's Tral

The Jaish terrorists were gunned down after an encounter started in the upper reaches of a forested area in Tral in Awantipora, officials said earlier in the day.

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist Wakeel Shah, who killed a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in June, was among three operatives gunned down by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Tral area, a senior police official said on Saturday. Rakesh Pandita, a municipal councillor of Tral in Pulwama district and BJP leader, was killed by terrorists on June 2. Pandita was visiting a friend, Mushtaq Ahmad, when three terrorists opened fire at them.

J-K police said a search operation is on in Jammu and Kashmir's Tral area. (File Photo)

Shah and two other JeM terrorists were killed in the encounter by security forces, which started in the upper reaches of a forested area of Nagbaeran in Tral in Awantipora of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said earlier in the day.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the area in the south Kashmir district after they received inputs about the presence of the JeM terrorists there, the officials said.

They said the search operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired upon the security forces, who retaliated. "In the ensuing gunfight, three terrorists affiliated with JeM outfit were killed," an official said.

This was the second encounter in the Pulwama district in as many days.