Five suspected militants were killed in two separate gunfights on Tuesday with security forces in Pulwama and Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Kashmir Zone Police said that security forces gunned down three militants after an encounter started in Pulwama’s Kakapora town on Tuesday. A gunfight broke out after security forces from the Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army and the Central Reserve Police Force were conducting an operation based on inputs about the presence of militants in the area, India Today reported.
In another encounter, security forces killed two militants in the Melhora region in Shopian, according to the Kashmir Zone police. They said that a search was underway.
Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation at Melhura on Monday following inputs about the presence of militants in the area. The operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire at security forces.
“The bodies have been retrieved from the encounter site,” the Indian Army said, according to The Hindu. “One AK-47 and one pistol were recovered from the site.” The identity and group affiliation of the deceased militants was being ascertained.
Past gunfights
On October 12, Security forces killed a Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and his associate in an encounter in Srinagar. The commander was identified as Saifullah, who was from Pakistan and involved in a series of attacks on security forces, including in Pampore, Chadoora, Nowgam and Kandizaal.
On October 10, another Lashkar-e-Taiba commander and three suspected militants were killed in two separate gunfights with security forces in Pulwama and Kulgam districts.
Security forces had on October 7 killed three militants in the Sugan Zainapora area of Shopian district. Three more militants were killed in the Pampore area of Pulwama district on October 5. Two Central Reserve Police Force also died in the gunfight.
Two militants were killed on September 27 in a gunfight with security forces in Samboora village of Pampore in Pulwama district. Two army personnel had sustained injuries in the gunfight. Two Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders were killed in a night-long encounter on September 25 in Anantnag district.
On September 24, an unidentified militant was killed in a gunfight with security forces in the district. The security forces had killed another militant in an overnight encounter in the Charar-e-Sharif area of Budgam district on September 23.
On August 29, three suspected militants and one soldier were killed in a gunfight in the Zadoora area of Pulwama district.
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