Army Jawan, 2 Militants Killed During Encounter in J&K’s Anantnag

Police said a search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon the forces, who retaliated.

File image of an encounter between armed forces personnel and terrorists in Kashmir.

(Photo: IANS)

An Indian Army soldier and two militants were killed in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district on Tuesday, 18 June, police sources told IANS.

The Jaish-e-Muhammad militant, whose car was used in the 14 February Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers, was among the two militants killed, IANS reported quoting the police.

Acting on credible input about the presence of militants in Bijbehara area of the south Kashmir district, security forces had launched a cordon and search operation on Tuesday morning, reported PTI. The encounter comes a day after an Army major was killed by the militants during a gun-battle in the district.

The official told PTI that the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired on the forces, who retaliated.

The soldier initially injured in the encounter in Waghama village, later succumbed. Two others soldiers have also been injured. They have been shifted to hospital, the sources added.

Youth's Body Recovered From Encounter Site

The body of a 20-year-old college student was recovered on Tuesday, 18 June, near an encounter site in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district, where a militant and an army officer were killed a day ago, police said, as per PTI.

Nasir Ahmad Mir's body bore bullet wounds and was recovered near the encounter site in Achabal area in the morning, an official said.

The body of Mir, a resident of Checki Achabal, was taken into custody by the police and sent for post-mortem, the official said.

Major Ketan Sharma and a militant were killed, while another officer and two troopers were injured in an encounter between the security forces and the ultras in Achabal area on Monday, the official added.

Militants also targeted an army patrol unit with a vehicle fitted with an improvised explosive device in Pulwama district on Monday. Nine jawans and two civilians were injured in the blast. They are recuperating at a hospital.

The site of the blast was 27 km from the area where a convoy of vehicles carrying CRPF personnel was attacked by a suicide bomber in February in which 40 jawans were killed.

(With inputs from PTI and IANS)