Two militants killed in encounter at Shopian, buried as unidentified terrorists

Two militants, alleged to be locals, were on Friday killed in an encounter with security forces in South Kashmir's Shopian district and later buried as "unidentified terrorists" in North Kashmir.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in the Dairoo area of Shopian early morning following a specific intelligence input about the presence of terrorists there, a police official said.

The search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired upon the security forces, who retaliated.

In the ensuing gunfight, two militants were killed, the official said, adding that their identity and group affiliation was being ascertained.

However, the bodies were not handed over to anyone as the police authorities maintained that the deceased could not be identified and hence were buried at unmarked graves in North Kashmir.

The authorities have been strict about gatherings at the funerals of local terrorists and recently police had registered cases in this regard.

Police registered a case against unknown people last week for attending the funeral of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant Sajad Nawab Dar for violating government health advisories and regulations that strictly prohibit any gathering because of COVID-19 cases.

A similar case was registered in Kulgam district for violation of prohibitory orders and attending another funeral of a terrorist.