Militant killed in shootout with Army

Army shot dead a militant after ultras ambushed their patrol party in Chowduribagh area of Litter in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Tuesday.

A police official said that the militants attacked an army patrolling party of 55-Rashtriya Rifles in Chowduribagh, 38 kms from here, at around 11 am. The fire was retaliated by the army, triggering a brief shootout in which one militant was killed, he said.

The slain militant was identified as Irfan Rather, a local. The official said that the forces cordoned off the area and started searches to nab the rest of the militants, who managed to flee after the attack.

Meanwhile, clashes erupted in the area with youth pelting the forces with stones to disrupt their operation. The forces, according to witnesses resorted to tear gas shelling to disperse the protesters.

In its ongoing crackdown on militants in Kashmir, security forces killed over 250 militants last year, while 217 ultras were neutralized in 2017. However, despite an increase in encounters and militant killings, Army maintains that recruitment of local youth into militancy has seen a decline in Kashmir during the last months of 2018.