SRINAGAR: Two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, who were travelling in a vehicle, were killed in a brief shoot-out with security forces in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, said the police on Tuesday.
A police spokesman said acting on specific input, a joint area domination party of army and police tried to stop a suspected vehicle near a court complex in central Kashmir’s Budgam in the morning today.
"As the vehicle was intercepted, the militants travelling in the vehicle fired on the troops. In the retaliatory firing by the security men, both the militants were killed," he said.
ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said both the slain militants belonged to Lashkar-e-Toiba. He identified the deceased as Arbaaz Mir and Shahid Sheikh, both residents of Pulwama in south Kashmir.
According to ADGP, both the militants had earlier escaped from the recent encounter.
It is the first encounter between militants and security forces in militancy-hit Kashmir in 2023.