<p>Four unidentified militants were killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in north Kashmir's frontier district of Kupwara on Tuesday evening, the army said.</p>.<p>Sources said the encounter started after a joint team of the army's 41-Rashtriya Rifles and special operations group (SOG) of J&K police launched a cordon-and-search operation at Check Fatehkhan adjacent to forest area of Halmatpora in Kupwara at around 3 pm.</p>.<p>"The militants were offering prayers when they were spotted close to the forests by security forces team, who were acting on inputs about their movement in the area. Two militants guarding them opened fire triggering off a gunfight," they said and added the militants dispersed in different directions in the dense forest area after the firing started.</p>.<p>Srinagar based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia confirmed the killing of four militants in the encounter and said that the operation was ongoing to trace out the other ultras hiding in the area. However, he didn't divulge the identity and group affiliation of the slain militants.</p>.<p>Senior Superintend of Police (SSP) Kupwara, Shemsher Singh said that bodies of the slain militants have not been recovered, so far, as the area is a dense forest and firing was going on. "I can't confirm if four militants have been killed as bodies have not been retrieved so far," he said.</p>.<p>The SSP added that the operation might prolong as the militants have taken shelter in the forest area and are responding to the fire from the security forces intermittently.</p>.<p>Reports said para commandos have been rushed to the area to flush out the remaining militants. The security forces, sources said, have launched a cordon-and-search operation in the adjacent forest areas including Gulgam and Awoora- which is connecting the Halmathpora forests.</p>.<p>While south Kashmir remains the stronghold of local militants, northern parts of the Valley, being infiltration route, are dominated by foreign, especially Pakistani ultras. Over 70% of the operations in north Kashmir are taking place near the Line of Control (LoC).</p>.<p>"Contrary to what is being projected in the media that south Kashmir is hotbed of militancy, the figures reveal that north has more active militants. The militants in north are mostly Pakistanis," a senior police officer told DH.</p>
<p>Four unidentified militants were killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in north Kashmir's frontier district of Kupwara on Tuesday evening, the army said.</p>.<p>Sources said the encounter started after a joint team of the army's 41-Rashtriya Rifles and special operations group (SOG) of J&K police launched a cordon-and-search operation at Check Fatehkhan adjacent to forest area of Halmatpora in Kupwara at around 3 pm.</p>.<p>"The militants were offering prayers when they were spotted close to the forests by security forces team, who were acting on inputs about their movement in the area. Two militants guarding them opened fire triggering off a gunfight," they said and added the militants dispersed in different directions in the dense forest area after the firing started.</p>.<p>Srinagar based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia confirmed the killing of four militants in the encounter and said that the operation was ongoing to trace out the other ultras hiding in the area. However, he didn't divulge the identity and group affiliation of the slain militants.</p>.<p>Senior Superintend of Police (SSP) Kupwara, Shemsher Singh said that bodies of the slain militants have not been recovered, so far, as the area is a dense forest and firing was going on. "I can't confirm if four militants have been killed as bodies have not been retrieved so far," he said.</p>.<p>The SSP added that the operation might prolong as the militants have taken shelter in the forest area and are responding to the fire from the security forces intermittently.</p>.<p>Reports said para commandos have been rushed to the area to flush out the remaining militants. The security forces, sources said, have launched a cordon-and-search operation in the adjacent forest areas including Gulgam and Awoora- which is connecting the Halmathpora forests.</p>.<p>While south Kashmir remains the stronghold of local militants, northern parts of the Valley, being infiltration route, are dominated by foreign, especially Pakistani ultras. Over 70% of the operations in north Kashmir are taking place near the Line of Control (LoC).</p>.<p>"Contrary to what is being projected in the media that south Kashmir is hotbed of militancy, the figures reveal that north has more active militants. The militants in north are mostly Pakistanis," a senior police officer told DH.</p>
