MILITANT KILLED IN HANDWARA ENCOUNTER

SRINAGAR : A militant was killed in a gunfight between security forces and militants in north Kashmir’s Handwara area of Kupwara district, the army said on Tuesday.

In a tweet, army’s Chinar Corps said a militant was killed in Handwara’s Haphruda and the operation was still in progress.

Police control room Handwara said a cordon and search operation was launched in Hangikoot forest area of Wilgam in Handwara on Tuesday morning.

“Reportedly, an encounter has ensued. Since the area is remote and communication network is weak, we can’t say with surety what is the latest update,” an official manning PCR Handwara said.

Superintendent of police Handwara Ghulam Jeelani, however, did not answer calls.

On August 16, a Lashkar-eTaiba district commander was killed in a gunfight with security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

On August 13, three Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including the outfit’s operational commander Yasin Itoo alias Mehmood Ghaznavi, were killed in a gunbattle.

Two soldiers also died in the encounter.