4 Militants Killed in Encounter With Security Forces in Shopian

A cordon and search operation had been launched in Shopian, following information about the presence of militants.

Soldiers move towards the site of an encounter in which four Ansar-Ul-Gazwatul-Hind militants were killed, in Shopian

(Photo: PTI)

Four militants were killed in an encounter between militants and security forces in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, 23 June, police said, reported ANI.

Dilbagh Singh, DGP of Jammu and Kashmir Police told ANI,

“It was a successful operation in which four militants were neutralised. All of them were sort of IS-inspired militants who were commanded by Shaukat Ahmed Butt of the same area. They were wanted in many terror-related crimes.”

Speaking to PTI, a police spokesman identified them as Rafi Hassan Mir, Suhail Ahmad Bhat, Showkat Ahmad Mir and Azad Ahmad Khanday.

While Showkat Ahmad Mir had joined militant ranks in 2015, the other three had only joined him recently.

“Showkat was instrumental in recruiting Azad, Rafi and Suhail into terrorist ranks. Showkat was initially associated with Hizbul Mujahideen,” he told PTI.

While the spokesman did not comment on the affiliation of the slain militants, sources said they were affiliated to Ansar Gazwatul Hind, an offshoot of Al Qaeda.

Police Launched Cordon and Search Op

The encounter took place in the Daramdora area of Keegam in South Kashmir.

A police official said security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Shopian, following information about the presence of militants there, PTI reported.

According to police, as the forces were conducting searches, the hiding militants fired upon them. The security forces retaliated to the firing, triggering a gun battle,  the official said.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)