Five militants were killed in two encounters in Anatnag and Kupwara districts on Friday while the Army rescued members of a family taken hostage by militants in Budgam district.‘‘We cordoned off Kawni village near Awantipora in South Kashmir and launched an operation in which four militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba were gunned down,’’ an Army spokesman said. All four were residents of Pakistan. In another encounter at Handwara, a militant was killed by Rashtriya Rifles troops. The Army also rescued members of family at Kanyir near Bogam village in Budgam on Friday, he said.
