SRI NAGAR: Four militants belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen and a para-commando were killed in a gunfight with the forces in a village in south Kashmir’s Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir. Two soldiers were also injured in the exchange of fire. A police officer said police, CRPF and army men launched a search operation in Nadigam village of Shopian district in the wee hours of Tuesday after receiving credible inputs about the presence of militants there.
“As the search operation was going on, the militants hiding in the area fired on the search party. The troops returned fire, triggering a gun battle,” the officer said. The official said in the ensuing gunfight, which continued till afternoon, four Hizb militants and a para-commando, Lance Havaldar Vijar Kumar, a resident of Sangwan at Haryana’s Bhiwani, were killed. Two soldiers, who were also injured in the gunfight, were shifted to a military hospital where they are undergoing treatment.
The slain militants were identified as Abid Nazir Chopan, Basharat Nengroo, Mehraj-ud-Din Najar and Malik Zada Inam-ul-Haq, all residents of Shopian.“They were involved in attacks on security establishments,” the officer said. After the gunfight started, locals attempted to march towards the encounter site. However, they were intercepted by the forces, who fired pellets and resorted to baton charge.
