Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): Three militants have been killed in an overnight encounter that started yesterday at Mehloora village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district. An army officer was also injured in the gunbattle, defence officials said.
While two militants were gunned down yesterday, one more holed-up ultra was terminated by the forces today, bringing to end an over 18-hour long gunfight.
“One more militant killed. In total, three militants killed in Mehloora encounter,” Defence Spokesman in Srinagar Rajesh Kalia told NVI. Pertinently, two militants were killed till late evening yesterday.
Officials said that fresh gunfight resumed early morning today in which one more militant was killed.
The encounter had raged after joint teams of Army, Police and CRPF launched a massive search operation on receiving a tip-off about the presence of militants in village Mehloora, Zainpora, in Shopian district on Tuesday afternoon.
“As the security forces zeroed in on the suspected house where militants were believed to be hiding, the militants fired indiscriminately triggering off an encounter,” the officials said.
Officials said that an officer from Army’s 55 RR regiment was also injured in the gunfight. “He was rushed to army hospital, where his condition is stated as stable,” officials said.
Police sources said that bodies of all three militants have been recovered along with some arms and ammunition and the encounter site is being sanitized. “Identification of the slain militants is being ascertained,” they said.
Meanwhile, police appealed to the people of the area not to go closer to the encounter spot till the site is properly sanitised and cleared for residual explosives.
