Two Army men, including a major, were killed and another jawan was injured when militants opened fire on a search party of security forces in Shopian district of south Kashmir, police said today. Pakistan-sponsored terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Army Major Kamlesh Pandey of 62 Rashtriya Rifles, along with two soldiers Sepoy Tanjin Chhutin and Kripal Singh sustained bullet injuries in the ginfight. Later, Major Kamlesh succumbed to his injuries.
Suspecting presence of terrorists in Matribugh Zoipora village of Shopian district, a cordon-and-search operation was launched by a joint party of 62RR of Army, Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir police and Central Reserve Police Force.
At least two to three militants, who were believed to have been trapped in the area, opened fire after the security forces approached the site.
The encounter concluded after the terrorists managed to flee away from the site.
2 Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in encounter in Kashmir's Kulgam
Earlier on Thursday, the security forces gunned down two Hizbul Mujahideen militants in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district.
“Two militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Gopalpora area of Kulgam this morning,” a police official said.
He said one of the slain militants was involved in an attack on a bank cash van in the district on May 1 this year in which five policemen and two bank guards were killed.
“One of the slain militants was involved in the murder of five policemen and two bank guards in Pombai village in Kulgam district on May 1,” the official said.
The security forces have recovered two weapons from the site of the encounter, the official said.
The encounters with terrorists come two days after the security forces, in a major breakthrough, gunned down Lashkar-e-Taiba divisional commander Abu Dujana and his accomplice Arif Nabi Dar after a seven-hour-long gunfight in south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Tuesday.
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