IED expert among four militants killed in J&K

Srinagar, Dec. 25: Four militants, including an IED expert, were killed in twin encounters with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

While two Lashkar-eTaiba (LeT) militants were killed in Shopian district, two Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind ultras were gunned down in Pulwama district in south Kashmir.

Acting on specific input about the presence of militants in Chowgam village in Shopian, security forces launched a cordon and search operation there during the night, a police official said.

During the operation, as the presence of terrorists got ascertained, they were given ample opportunities to surrender. However, they denied it and fired indiscriminately at the joint search party which was retaliated, leading to an encounter, he said.

In the ensuing gunbattle, two militants were killed, the official said, adding their bodies were later retrieved from the encounter site.

He identified the two ultras as Sajad Ahmad Chak, a resident of Braripora, Shopian, and Raja Basit Yaqoob, a resident of Achan Litter, Pulwama.

As per police records, both the killed terrorists were categorised terrorists linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT and were part of groups involved in several terror crime cases. Besides, the killed terrorist, Chak, was instrumental in motivating and recruiting the youth to join terror folds, the official said.

He said incriminating material and arms and ammunition including two AK series rifles, four AK magazines and 32 rounds were recovered from the encounter site.

The recovered material has been taken into case records for further investigation, he added.

In another encounter that broke out at Hardumir in the Tral area of Pulwama, two militants were killed, the official said.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar identified the two as Nadeem Bhat and Rasool alias Adil.

He said Rasool was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) expert.

They were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit AuGH. (Two) 02 AK rifles recovered. Both were involved in several terror incidents including IED blast & grenade throwing, Kumar said on Twitter.