Shielding handler, Army labrador dies in Jammu encounter

Three people, including an SPO, were injured in the encounter, which was still underway until Tuesday night.

Sources said that a joint operation by troops and the police has been going on in the area for the past three days following inputs about the sighting of two-three militants who had purchased a phone charger from a local shopkeeper. On Monday evening, the troops had seen them and opened fire to engage them, but they managed to escape under the cover of darkness.

Security forces and the police then cordoned the area and plugged all escape routes.

On Tuesday morning, they resumed the search for the militants and managed to establish contact with them by evening, sources said.

On September 4, a militant was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Reasi district. The encounter followed police and security forces cordoning the village following a tip-off that two militants had entered a house there. They asked the family to prepare tea for them and also said they wanted to take a nap. Family members, however, managed to come out of the house, and one of them informed the nearby police picket.