At least three terrorists of banned terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen were killed today after a gunbattle broke between them and security forces on Sunday afternoon in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Acting on specific intelligence input about the presence of unspecified number of militants in Awoora village in Pahalgam area of the district, security forces launched a search operation in the area, a police official said.
As the forces were conducting the operation, the hiding militants fired at them, he said, adding the security forces retaliated, resulting in an encounter.
Police said that as soon as the security forces cordoned off Awoora near Pahalgam town following information about the presence of the militants, they were fired at, triggering the fighting.
The security forces rushed reinforcements to the area to ensure that the militants didn’t escape.
A police official said locals clashed with security forces in a bid to help the trapped militant to break the cordon. However, tear smoke shells were used in parts of Anantnag and near the encounter site to disperse the stone throwing protesters, reported The Hindu.
