Four militants killed in two gunfights

Four militants were killed on Thursday in two gunfights with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian and Kupwara districts, sources said.

Three militants were killed in Shopian district and one in Kupwara district, security sources said.

Two of the slain militants belonged to Pulwama and one to Shopian. The identity of the fourth killed in another gunbattle in Yaroo village in Kupwara is being ascertained, police said.

Street protests and a spontaneous shutdown followed the killings in Shopian and Pulwama districts, authorities said.

The gunbattle erupted when they opened fire at the security forces in Yawran forests during a cordon-and-search operation, a police officer said.

Immediately after the gunfight, civilians clashed with security forces in Shopian and Pulwama towns. Security forces used tear smoke and pellets to quell the mobs, official sources said.

A spontaneous shutdown was observed in both towns, with markets getting shut and transport going off the roads.

As a precaution, authorities suspended mobile internet services in the affected areas.

Another operation against militants had started in Yaroo village in Kupwara district where police said the body of a militant has been recovered.

Police has appealed to people not to go near the sites of the gunfights as there is a possibility of unexploded material being present there.

--IANS

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