Five terrorists killed in Shopian

SRINAGAR: Five terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces at Reban village in Jammu & Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday, the Union Territory police said and added the gunbattle was triggered after a a joint operation was launched in the area following a tip-off about terrorist presence there.

Inspector General of police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar confirmed the five terrorists, who were holed up in a residential building, were killed in the operation. “The operation has ended,” Kumar said.

Defense spokesman Col Rajesh

Kalia said the joint operation was launched in early hours of Sunday following an input from the Jammu & Kashmir police. “A cordon was laid and contact established that triggered a firefight in which the five terrorists were eliminated. The good drills ensured no collateral damage was caused during the operation,” he said

The identities of the slain terrorists were not immediately known.

The fresh gunbattle is the latest in a series of firefights since March in which 49 militants, including Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo, and two associates have been killed. Naikoo carried a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head and was killed in Pulwama district on May 6.

Abdul Rehman alias Fauji Bhai, a top Jaish-e-mohammed explosives expert, suspected of planning a May 28 car bombing that was foiled by the vehicle’s interception, and two local terrorists were killed in a counterinsurgency operation on Wednesday. A native of Rawalpindi in Pakistan, he was an Afghan war veteran who had been active in Kashmir since 2017.