STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Three militants were killed on Monday in a gunfight with security forces in south Kashmir.
An army spokesperson said that three AK rifles were recovered from the militants who were killed in Awoora village of Pahalgam in Anantnag district. Police sources said the three were local militants.
Police said the gunfight erupted on Sunday evening after security forces received inputs about presence of militants in Awoora village. They launched a cordon and search operation which triggered an encounter with the militants.
Locals said as soon as the news of the encounter spread, people from neighbouring villages tried to march towards the site triggering clashes with the security forces.
On Sunday, security forces also arrested a suspected militant of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, believed to be an associate of slain LeT commander Abu Bakr in north Kashmir’s Sopore region.
Police said the militants were all locals and belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.
The bodies have been handed over to their families after completing all legal formalities, a police official said.
He said the militants have been identified as Abid Sheikh, a resident of Satkapora area of Srigufwara, Maqsood Shah alias Masoom, a resident of Bewoora area of Srigufwara and Adil Reshi, a resident of Reshi Mohalla area of Bijbehara – all in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Police said the militants were all locals and belonged to Hizbul Mujahideen outfit.
The bodies have been handed over to their families after completing all legal formalities, a police official said.
He said the militants have been identified as Abid Sheikh, a resident of Satkapora area of Srigufwara, Maqsood Shah alias Masoom, a resident of Bewoora area of Srigufwara and Adil Reshi, a resident of Reshi Mohalla area of Bijbehara – all in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
Meanwhile, a police officer said the three slain militants had recently surfaced in a video on social media showing them enjoying the recent snowfall in the Valley.
The three militants were part of the six militants in that video where they were playing in snow, Superintendent of Police, Anantnag, Zubair Ahmad told PTI.
The video showed the militants enjoying snowfall and brandishing AK 47 assault rifles while treading a snow-clad hillock after heavy snowfall on January 6.
