4 Hizbul men killed in J&K

SRINAGAR: Four terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen responsible for killing several civilians were shot dead by security forces in an encounter in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, the police said.

Two soldiers of the Indian Army were also injured in the encounter, which took place in Hardmand Guri village of Kulgam, officials said.

The operation was launched on Saturday after security forces received a tip-off about the presence of militants in the village, they said, adding that the encounter lasted for several hours.

“A Hizbul Mujahideen group of terrorists was killing civilians over the past 12 days. Four such killings were done by them in south Kashmir. The police were able to track them down, and an operation was launched this morning by the police, security forces, and the Army in which three of them have been neutralised,” a police spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that the house in which the terrorists were held up has been demolished. “After the clearance of debris, a confirmation about the fourth terrorist’s presence will be possible… Two terrorists have been identified as locals and the identity of third is being ascertained,” the spokesperson said.

An Army spokesman said that four militants were killed in the joint operation with the police and the CRPF. “We have recovered large quantity of arms and ammunition from the encounter site,” the spokesman said.

The officials said that militants killed in the encounter were locals and had joined the terror outfit in the recent months. In the last four days, three civilians were killed in south Kashmir and the police had blamed militants for those killings.