SRINAGAR: Two militants were killed in an encounter with troops in a forest area of Chatroo in the mountainous Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday. It is suspected that a top Jaish-e-Mohammad commander, Saifullah, was among the two militants killed in the gunfight.
A Jammu-based defence spokesman said that acting on credible intelligence inputs collated from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Intelligence Bureau and other intelligence sources, a joint operation was launched by the Army, police and paramilitary CRPF in the Chatroo forest area of Kishtwar under Operation Trashi-I to track and neutralise the militants hiding there.
During the search operation, troops established contact with the militants. “The troops of CIF Delta, in close coordination with the J&K Police and CRPF, re-engaged the militants at approximately 11 am in challenging terrain,” the spokesman said.
Displaying tactical precision, seamless synergy and resolute aggression, the troops dominated the encounter site and killed two militants. “Two AK-47 rifles and other war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site,” the spokesman added.
It is suspected that Saifullah, one of the most wanted militants in Jammu and Kashmir, was among those killed. He had been active in the region for the past few years and was involved in several attacks on security forces, having escaped multiple operations earlier.
Security forces have been carrying out a massive search operation in Chatroo and adjoining forest areas of Kishtwar since the January 18 encounter in which a para commando was killed and others were injured.