Three militants were killed in an overnight operation in north Kashmir’s Sopore on Tuesday. With this, the number of militants killed this year so far has crossed the 100-mark.
Also read: Two TRF militants killed in Srinagar encounter
The police identified the militants as Faisal Fayaz from Shopian, Mustafa Sheikh from Kupwara and Rameez Ahmad Ghanie from Shopian.
“They were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba’s The Resistance Front,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said.
One AK 47 rifle and two pistols were recovered from the site of encounter. Sheikh was involved in pelting of stones and an associate of Manan Wani, a scholar from Aligarh who joined militancy. “Abbas Sheikh of the TRF, who was killed on Monday in the Srinagar encounter, activated him with the intention of receiving groups infiltrating from Pakistan occupied Kashmir and activating local youth to join militancy,” the police said.
“Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, was recovered at the encounter site,” the police said. The militants were encircled by the security forces on Monday evening in Sopore’s Pethseer area. “As the security forces zeroed in, the hiding militants opened fire and sparked an encounter, which lasted the whole night and the first half of Tuesday,” the police added.
The IGP said, “By the collective efforts of the police, Army, CRPF and the people of Kashmir, more than 100 terrorists were neutralised in 2021 so far in the Kashmir division”.
A total of 101 militants have been killed in stepped up operations against militants in Kashmir, official figures suggest.
