Five militants have died in an encounter with police and Army in Kangan area of Ganderbal district in Kashmir valley on Friday.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Ganderbal Shahid Meraj Rather told The Hindu that Hizbul Mujahideen's Assadullah group was wiped out when troops of Rashtriya Rifles 24th battalion and the police engaged the militants in a gunfight at Prang on Najwan ridge of forest, close to Srinagar-Leh highway, at 1.30 a.m. He said that the ambush had been laid after the security forces learned about the militants' possible passage across Sindh river through a source information.
The encounter took place when the militants were crossing the river. All the five militants got killed. There was no collateral damage, Mr. Rather said. Five AK rifles have been recovered along with the dead bodies.
Mr. Rather said that the militants killed in the encounter included a Pashtu speaking commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Assadullah who was believed to be from NWFP area of Pakistan. He was known to be operating in Kangan area for a long time. The SP said that all the five militants of the group were believed to be Pakistani nationals.
Friday's encounter is rated as a major achievement for police and security forces in the valley as it is for the first time this year in the hinterland that five militants have died in a single operation. Significantly the number of the police and armed forces personnel killed in the last eight months of the year is more than the corresponding period of any year of the Omar Abdullah government. Senior Army officials would be sharing more details in a news briefing later
Five Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in Kashmir encounter - The Hindu
Superintendent of Police (SP) Ganderbal Shahid Meraj Rather told The Hindu that Hizbul Mujahideen's Assadullah group was wiped out when troops of Rashtriya Rifles 24th battalion and the police engaged the militants in a gunfight at Prang on Najwan ridge of forest, close to Srinagar-Leh highway, at 1.30 a.m. He said that the ambush had been laid after the security forces learned about the militants' possible passage across Sindh river through a source information.
The encounter took place when the militants were crossing the river. All the five militants got killed. There was no collateral damage, Mr. Rather said. Five AK rifles have been recovered along with the dead bodies.
Mr. Rather said that the militants killed in the encounter included a Pashtu speaking commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Assadullah who was believed to be from NWFP area of Pakistan. He was known to be operating in Kangan area for a long time. The SP said that all the five militants of the group were believed to be Pakistani nationals.
Friday's encounter is rated as a major achievement for police and security forces in the valley as it is for the first time this year in the hinterland that five militants have died in a single operation. Significantly the number of the police and armed forces personnel killed in the last eight months of the year is more than the corresponding period of any year of the Omar Abdullah government. Senior Army officials would be sharing more details in a news briefing later
Five Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in Kashmir encounter - The Hindu
