Three JeM militants killed in Baramulla, Shopian

Three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were on Saturday killed in two separate encounters with security forces in Baramulla and Shopian districts of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

While two militants were killed in Sopore township of Baramulla district of north Kashmir, another was gunned down in Shopian district of south Kashmir in an operation which began on Friday, a police officer said.

Acting on specific information about the presence of militants in Warpora area of Sopore in Baramulla, security forces launched a cordon and search operation there on Saturday morning, he said.

As the security personnel were searching the area, the militants fired at them. The forces retaliated and in the ensuing gunfight two militants were killed, the officer said.

Both the slain militants belonged to JeM outfit, he added.

In another operation which began in Pandushan area of Shopian on Friday, the officer said security forces killed Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant Manzoor Bhat.

On Friday, another JeM militant Zeenat ul Islam Naikoo, a resident of Memandar area of Shopian, was killed in the gunfight, the officer said.

He said both the militants were involved in terror crimes, including atrocities on civilians.

"Naikoo has a long history of terror crimes and several cases were registered against him including relating to attack on police station Shopian, abduction of a civilian Shakoor Ahmad, killing of four policemen in Shopian and abduction and killing of civilian Tanveer Ahmad," he said.