Three local LeT militants killed in Kashmir’s Shopian

A police official said security forces had launched a cordon and search operation at Munjh Marg in Zainapora area of Shopian

Three local militants affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba outfit were killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday.

Police said two of them were involved in the killings of two civilians. Lateef Lone, one of the slain militants, was involved in the killing of Purana Krishna Bharat, a Kashmiri Pandit, they said. Another militant Umer Nazir was involved in the killing of Till Bahadur Thapa of Nepal, the police said in a tweet.

Reports said the gunfight erupted during the wee hours of Tuesday when the security forces were conducting an anti-militancy operation in Munje-Marg area of Shopian. A rifle and two pistols were recovered from the encounter site, police said.

The police called it a ‘major success’ as the same militants were involved in the civilian killings in south Kashmir.

According to official figures so far this year 183 militants, 31 security personnel and 31 civilians have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 124 terror incidents. Among the slain civilians this year, 14 belonged to minorities, including three Kashmiri Pandits.

The numbers of killings in 2021 stood at 189 militants, 44 security forces personnel and 41 civilians in 2021. During 2020, the region recorded the elimination of 203 militants, while 160 ultras were killed in 2019.