J&K: Two local militants killed in encounter in south Kashmir's Kulgam

Kashmir Zone Police, on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle said two militants were killed in the gunfight and the security forces were retrieving their bodies from the site of the encounter.

Kulgam:Two militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir's Kulgam district on Wednesday. The encounter broke out between security forces and militants in the Kujjar area of the district.

"At around 12 pm, an encounter started at the Kujjar village of Kulgam district. During the exchange of fire between militants and joint security forces, two militants were neutralised. The bodies of the slain militants are being retrieved from the encounter site," a senior police official said.

Kashmir Zone Police, on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle said two militants were killed in the gunfight and the security forces were retrieving their bodies from the site of the encounter.

"Kulgam Encounter Update: 02 terrorists killed. Bodies of the killed terrorists being retrieved from the site of encounter. Cordon & search operation is still in progress. Further details shall follow," Kashmir Zone Police tweeted. The cordon and search operation was carried out by the security forces along with the police after receiving a tip-off about the presence of the militants in the area.

In a separate post later on, the police identified the two slain militants as Basit Amin Bhat of Frisal and Saqib Ahmad Lone of Hawoora, Kulgam. Police said the two were linked with Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit. "Incriminating materials, arms & ammunition including 02 AK rifles recovered," Kashmir Zone Police posted quoting ADGP Kashmir.

The encounter ensued after the holed-up militants fired upon the searching parties, who retaliated with the same response, an official said. The fresh encounter comes a fortnight after the longest-running gunfight in the Kokernag area of south Kashmir's Anantnag district. At the end of a six-day gunfight between security forces and militants on September 19, two militants were killed, including the commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba organisation, Uzair Bashir Khan.

Additionally killed in the incident were Sepoy Pradeep Patel, Major Aashish Dhonchak, J&K Police's DySP Humayun Muzamil Bhat, and Colonel Manpreet Singh.