JOIN USThe gun battle started in the morning and lasted till late afternoon, Inspector General of Police Dilbagh Singh told reporters at a hurriedly convened press conference here late in the evening.
Dilbagh Singh said that the “killing of the terrorists was a big blow to the terrorist outfit and a big relief to the people of the area”.
The three slain terrorists were identified as Abdul Rashid Naik, divisional commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen (Pir Panjaal Range), Nasir Ahmed Naik, district commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahadeen and Mushtaq Ahmed of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The gunfight started at Manjosh near Banihal in Ramban district of Jammu region. It lasted for more than eight hours, during which the army and police, negotiated slippery hills and dense forests to “eliminate the terrorists”, Singh said.