5 killed in Pak shelling in Uri sector of Kashmir

Meanwhile, seven people including four militants and a Border Security Force officer were killed in separate incidents while security forces recovered a huge cache of arms and explosives in Kashmir valley since last evening, an official spokesman said here today.

Assistant Commandant of BSF, Shamsher Singh, and three hardcore militants of banned Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in an encounter at Dangerpora in Pulwama district of South Kashmir.

The encounter erupted when a BSF party of 104th battalion led by Singh raided a Hizbul hideout in the village following information about presence of militants, he said.

The militants were asked to surrender, but they opened fire to which the troops retaliated and in the ensuing encounter which lasted several hours, three militants and Singh were killed, the spokesman said.

A policeman associated with Special Operations Group was also injured in the gun-battle, he said adding two of the militants killed were believed to be foreigners.

Three AK assault rifles, seven magazines, a wireless set, a grenade attachment and some documents were recovered from the slain militants, the spokesman said.

The spokesman said militants shot dead a police guard posted on Chooru bridge on Srinagar-Baramulla road near Sangrama in Sopore area of Baramulla yesterday.

An unidentified militant fell to the bullets of the security forces during search operations at Parnar forest in frontier district of Kupwara on Sunday, the spokesman said.

Body of an unidentified person was picked up by police from Khurnar in Kupwara district today, official sources said.

The spokesman said two underground militant hideouts were unearthed by the security forces during combing operations at Kanthi forest and Rajnar in Kupwara district which yielded two AK assault rifles, 15 rockets, an anti- personal mine, two kg of explosives, a disposable rocket launcher, three grenades and some ammunition.