Three militants killed in South Kashmir encounter

The army and the police had information about the presence of three Jaish outfit militants in a house following which a fierce encounter started.

A police spokesman said that after receiving specific inputs about the presence of militants, Government forces launched a search operation at Karewa village of south Kashmir’s Shopian district.

A fierce gun-battle raged for almost an hour between the government forces and the militants in Karewa Manlo village of Shopian district leaving three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants dead.

The slain militants were trapped in the residential house of Farooq Ahmad Khan, son of Mohammad Abdullah Khan in Karewa, Manlo village of Shopian district

Sources said one of the militants in a bid to flee from the spot jumped from the window. “During his escape bid the militant continuously fired upon the forces and he was killed in the retaliatory fire,” he said.

The slain militant Muhammad Asif Wani was a resident of Drubgam in neighbouring Pulwom district.

Another militant, according to sources, has been identified as Shabir Ahmed from Jammu’s Rajouri. The identification of the third militant was not ascertained yet.

Police suspect the three militants were behind Thursday’s attack in which a poll staff was killed.

The encounter took place a day after unidentified gunmen carried out an attack on a polling party escorted by police and CRPF in the district at the end of the voting resulting in the death of a polling official and injuries to five others, including three forces personnel.