Two LeT militants killed in encounter in Shopian in south Kashmir

Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, police said.

Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Khojpora village in the Reban area of the south Kashmir district during the night after receiving information about the presence of militants there, a police spokesman said.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon the forces personnel, prompting them to retaliate.

Two militants were killed in the gunfight, the spokesman said, adding their bodies were retrieved from the encounter site.

The slain militants have been identified as Shabir Ahmad Malik alias Abu Maviya, a resident of Tungduno Yaripora Kulgam who had been active since December 2017, and Amir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Wadina Melhoura who joined militancy in 2019.

Malik, a Pakistan-trained militant, was involved in various terror-related cases in south Kashmir, he said.

The spokesman said during the search at the encounter site, one AK-47, one under barrel grenade launcher, one AK-47 magazine, one Chinese pistol, one magazine of Chinese pistol and five nine mm live rounds were recovered.

A case has been registered and further investigation taken up in the matter, he added.