Two suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with security forces in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Saturday, the police said. The police are yet to identify the suspected militants or their affiliation.
A joint operation was launched by the Kulgam Police, the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles and the Central Reserve Police Force based on inputs about the presence of suspected militants in Kulgam’s Wanpora area.
“As search parties drew closer to the suspected house, hiding terrorists fired indiscriminately upon the search party,” the Kulgam Police said in a press release. “The fire was effectively retaliated in which two unidentified militants were neutralised.”
They said that arms and ammunition were recovered from the site.
The police said that a first information report was registered under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, Section 7 (prohibition of acquisition or possession, or of manufacture or sale, of prohibited arms or ammunition) and Section 27 (punishment for using arms) of the Arms Act. The FIR was also registered under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
This is the second encounter in the district within a week. On May 25, two suspected militants were killed at Khud Hanjipoa area of Kulgam. Several other encounters have taken place between militants and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir this month.
On May 19, an encounter broke out between security forces and terrorists in Srinagar’s Nawakadal area. Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including the son of a separatist leader, were killed. The gunfight left destruction in its wake, with several houses being razed to the ground, burnt or partially damaged.
On May 17, security forces killed two Hizbul Mujahideen militants in Doda district of Jammu. One of them was Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Tahir Ahmed Bhat. On May 6, the security forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo in Pulwama.
On May 3, five security personnel – an Army colonel, a major, two Army officers and a police sub-inspector – died during an 18-hour anti-militancy operation.
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