5 militants killed in encounter

In the biggest gun battle of this year, security forces killed five heavily armed Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants in a fierce encounter in Shopian district of south Kashmir on Thursday.

Sources said the militants were killed in a joint operation by counter-insurgency Victor Force of Army and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of police in the upper reaches of Kohrut area of Shopian.

A Defence spokesman told Deccan Herald that intelligence inputs about presence of 4-5 militants in a hideout in the forested area of Kohrut was received by the Rashtriya Rifles late on Wednesday evening.

“The operation was launched by 9:30 pm and an effective cordon was established, blocking all possible escape routes,” he said and added as the noose around hiding militants was tightened in the morning, they opened fire on the search party.

“In the ensuing fire fight and precise engagement by the Army, five terrorists were eliminated. Search led to recovery of 3 AK-47 rifles, one SLR, one Chinese pistol, ammunition and other war like stores. Out of five terrorists four were local and one was a foreigner,” he added.

Security forces had eliminated a top militant Abu Huzaifa of Lashker-e-Toiba in north Kashmir’s Sopore town on Wednesday.
DH News Service