Three unidentified militants, believed to be affiliated with Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Sunday.
“#SoporeEncounterUpdate: 02 more #unidentified #terrorists killed (total 03). #Incriminating materials including #arms & #ammunition recovered. Search going on. Further details shall follow (sic),” police tweeted.
The gun fight erupted after a joint team of army’s 22 Rashtriya Rifles and police launched a cordon-and-search-operation (CASO) in Rebban area of Sopore at around 4 am on Sunday following a tip-off over the presence of militants in the area, sources said.
The hiding militants opened fire on forces, who retaliated triggering a gunfight which lasted several hours. All the three militants hiding in the area were killed in the encounter, they said.
On June 25, two militants were neutralized in a similar encounter with security forces in Sopore. On July 1 a CRPF personnel and a civilian were killed in a militant attack in Sopore.
There has been an increase in anti-militancy operations in the Valley since March. Security forces have launched multiple anti-militancy operations in Srinagar, south and north Kashmir.
Since Covid-19 lockdown, nearly 100 militants and two of their associates have been killed, while 27 security forces personnel, including two in ceasefire violations, have lost their lives. From January this year, over 125 militants have been killed across Kashmir in dozens of encounters with security forces. 154 militants were killed in gun battles across Kashmir in the first seven months of 2019.
In the next five months, only 20 militants were neutralized by the security forces as anti-insurgency operations almost came to a halt as security and communication clampdown was imposed to prevent civilian protests in the wake of revocation of Article 370 on August 5.
Last month Inspector General Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said that 100-200 militants were still active in Kashmir.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks