A militant was killed in a brief gunfight in south Kashmir's Awantipora on Sunday morning, the police said. On Sunday morning, a joint team of the police, army and paramilitary forces cordoned off the Baragam village of south Kashmir's Awantipora after inputs about the presence of militants in the village. As the joint team of forces zeroed in on the target, the police said, the hiding militants opened fire leading to a gunfight and the death of one. "AwantiporaEncounterUpdate: 01 unidentified terrorist killed. Operation going on. Further details shall follow," the police said in a tweet. While the police is yet to officially identify the slain militant, police sources say he belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).They have identified him as Shabir Ahmad who had joined the militants a few months ago. This year, more than 150 militants have been killed in gunfights in Jammu and Kashmir. Last year, 225 militants were killed.
