5 LET, HM militants killed in J&K; civilian killed in protests

SRINAGAR: Five Lashkare-taiba (LET) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militants, including the one involved in

last year’s deadly attack on a cash van in which five policemen and two bank guards lost their lives, were killed in an encounter Saturday in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

A civilian was killed and 10 others injured in clashes near the encounter site when protesting youths started pelting stones at the security forces, an official said.

Security forces had

launched a search operation

late on Friday night in Chowgam area of Qazigund in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district based on inputs about the presence of militants in the area, a police spokesman said.

He said during the search operation, militants fired on the search party.

He said in the ensuing gunfight, five militants were killed.

“This was a group of terrorists belonging to proscribed outfits HM and LET,” the spokesman said.

He said the killed militants were identified as Gulzar Ahmad Paddar alias Saif, a resident of Adijan, Kulgam, Faisal Ahmad Rather alias Dawood (Yamrach, Kulgam), Zahid Ahmad Mir alias Hashim (Okey, Kulgam), Masroor Molvi alias Abu Darda (Fatehpora, Anantnag); and Zahoor Ahmad Lone alias Rehman Bhai (Kulgam).