J&K: Four militants, including two from Pakistan, killed in separate encounters

They added that heavy exchange of fire between militants and the armed forces was going on in Kupwara, while the anti-militancy operation in Kulgam was also on.

The police said that on Sunday afternoon, a joint team of J&K Police and the Indian Army launched an operation in the forests of Kupwara after inputs about the presence of militants in the area that they obtained from a militant, Showkat Ahmad Sheikh, they had arrested earlier.

“During the search of a hideout, the militants started firing indiscriminately upon the joint search party which was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter,” a statement read. It added: “In the initial exchange of fire, one militant was killed and the arrested militant leading the search party also got trapped. In the ensuing encounter, so far two Pakistani terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT were killed. Heavy exchange of fire is still going on and operation is in progress.”

The police are yet to ascertain the identity of the slain militants or to reveal the fate of the arrested militants who “led the forces” to the hideout.

In a separate gunfight in south Kashmir, two militants were killed after a brief exchange of fire in Kulgam. The police said that a joint team of J&K Police and the Army had cordoned off the D H Pora village of Kulgam after inputs about the presence of militants. As the joint team were zeroing in on the target, the militants opened fire trying to break the security cordon. The forces then returned fire in which the two militants were killed.

“In the ongoing encounter, two local terrorists were killed so far. They have been identified as Haris Sharief of Srinagar and Zakir Padder of Kulgam,” the police said.

The police informed that its records show that Haris Sharief, a resident of Zaffron colony in Srinagar, was associated with Lashkar-e-Toiba, while his associate Zakir Padder was affiliated with the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant outfit. Sources said that Haris joined the militants less than a month ago.