Militants kill 2 village defence guards in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar

Senior officials of the district confirmed that both the VDGs had been reported missing earlier in the day, before the militant outfit released their photographs. Police and security forces have rushed to the area.

The area has witnessed militant movement for the past several months, a senior officer said, adding that during the recent Assembly elections, there had been exchanges of fire between militants and security forces in the area on at least two occasions.

Meanwhile, sources said that both the VDGs had gone to the forests at Kuntwara in Chatroo with livestock in the morning. They did not return by evening.

Before village residents approached the police, militants released the photographs of the two VDGs with a statement that they were killed.

This is the second militant attack in Jammu province in the last nine days. On October 29, Army troops killed all the three militants who had attacked an ambulance in Jammu district’s Battal area.