2 Kashmir militants gunned down

Appeals were made to militants to surrender but they opened fire at the security forces

Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants, including the terror outfit’s self-styled divisional commander Shakoor Dar, were killed in an encounter with security forces, while another surrendered, in Kulgam district in the northern Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday, police said.

The police said that a tip-off had been received about the presence of some militants at Cheddar village in Qaimoh of Kulgam district, after which a crack team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Army and the CRPF, cordoned off the suspect house.

Appeals were made to the terrorists to surrender but they opened fire at the security forces, triggering a gunfight, the police said.

Shakoor Dar, a self-styled divisional commander of the LeT, was killed in the encounter along with another militant.

The identity of the second militant killed in the encounter was yet to be ascertained.

He is believed to be a Pakistani national, according to the police.

The third militant surrendered before the forces, along with arms and ammunition.

AP Protesters throw stones at police men during a protest in outskirts of Srinagar on Friday.