Three Lashkar militants killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag

Three militants affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit were killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday.

“#AnantnagEncounterUpdate: 02 more #terrorists killed (total 03). Search going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice,” J&K police said in a tweet.

The gunfight broke out in Vailoo-Kokernag of Anantnag, 75 km from Srinagar, during wee hours today after the security forces cordoned off the area following inputs about the presence of militants there, reports said.

A police official said as the security forces approached the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them, which was retaliated, triggering an encounter in which three ultras were killed.

Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the slain militants were affiliated with the LeT outfit. Sources said the trio was recently recruited into militancy and were all locals.

Earlier on May 6, three newly recruited militants of the Al-Badr outfit were killed and one surrendered before the security forces after a similar encounter in the neighbouring Shopian district.

The lifespan of militants in Kashmir has shrunk considerably over the last three years with 65% of the ultras surviving less than a year after joining militancy.

Pertinently, 46 militants have been killed in J&K so far this year and most of them belong to south Kashmir. Last year, 203 militants, including 166 locals were killed by security forces across the Valley. As many as 157 militants were killed in Kashmir in 2019 while the number was 257 in 2018 which was the highest in a decade.