Three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday, police officials said. The encounter started in the upper reaches of the forest area of Nagbaeran Tral in Awantipora after police and army launched a search operation early Saturday morning, they added.
Vijay Kumar, IGP Kashmir, said one of the terrorist killed was Wakeel Shah, who was involved in the killing of BJP leader Rakesh Pandita. The identity of the other terrorists is still being ascertained, and that search operations were being carried out in the area. Two AK-47 rifles, one SLR and other warlike stores have been recovered from the three terrorists neutralised in the Tral encounter.
Kashmir police said in a tweet, “Three unidentified terrorists affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM killed. Search is going on. Further details shall follow.”
A joint operation between the Army and the police, this is the second by security forces in Tral in the past 24 hours, and third since Thursday.
On Friday two terrorists were killed in Khrew near Srinagar. The police said they were part of a hit squad involved in the murders of civilians in south Kashmir.
A day earlier, a junior officer of the army was killed during a gunfight with terrorists in Rajouri district. A terrorist was also killed in that incident.
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The Saturday encounter was the latest in a series of gunfights as security forces intensified counter-insurgency operations in the Valley, killing 94 terrorists so far this year. Eight terrorists were killed in separate operations this month till Saturday.
A policeman and four civilians including three political workers have been killed in suspected terrorist attacks this month.