Two local militants were killed in a gun battle with security forces in north Kashmir’s Sopore area on Monday and three weapons recovered from the site of the encounter, officials said.
Director general of state police, SP Vaid?, tweeted, “Today morning 2 Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed in #Sopore in a joint operation. Well done boys!”
Officials said a cordon and search operation was launched by the personnel of the state police, Indian Army, and Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF) at Chack-e-brath in Sopore early on Monday after receiving a tip off about the presence of two militants in the area.
The trapped militants fired on the search party and were gunned down in the retaliatory fire, a senior officer said.
The militants have been identified as Pervez Ahmed Wani, a commander of the Hizbul, and Naeem Najar.
Mobile internet services were reportedly snapped and educational institutions were closed in Sopore and Baramulla as the encounter raged on.
{{/usCountry}}Mobile internet services were reportedly snapped and educational institutions were closed in Sopore and Baramulla as the encounter raged on.
{{/usCountry}}The killings come after a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant, allegedly involved in the abduction and killing of an army officer in May, was gunned down on Saturday.
In the last month alone, Indian forces have killed two top commanders of militant groups: Abu Dujana, formerly of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Yasin Yatoo, formerly of Hizbul Mujahideen.
The spurt in violence in the restive state comes amid intelligence warning about a possible infiltration attempt by a “fidayeen squad” of 13 Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants, headed by a former commando in the Pakistan army.
The intelligence documents, which were accessed by the Hindustan Times last week, suggest that the militants, based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), are planning to hit a major army installation and an air force base in Punjab or Jammu and Kashmir.