Two militants killed in Kashmir’s Shopian

Two unidentified militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kutpora area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Tuesday.

The encounter erupted after Army’s 34-Rashtriya Rifles and J&K police launched a cordon-and-search-operation (CASO) in Kutpora, Shopian on Tuesday morning following ‘specific’ information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.

He said during the search operation, militants fired at the forces triggering a gun battle in which two ultras were killed. “The hiding militants were repeatedly asked to surrender, however, they turned it down and fired upon the forces,” the official added.

The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants was not known immediately. As a ‘precautionary measure’, internet services were snapped in Shopian district.

In relentless anti-insurgency operations, security forces have killed over 200 militants, including 30 foreigners, in 88 operations across Jammu and Kashmir this year. 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.

In 2019, out of 157 slain militants, 33 were Pakistanis and majority of them belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad. In 2019, local militants accounted for 79 per cent deaths in encounters, while the number has grown to 88 per cent this year.