An Indian Army soldier and six Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Taiba militants have been killed in an encounter in a Jammu and Kashmir village in Shopian district on Sunday, defence spokesman said.
A civilian suffered a bullet injury as intense clashes broke out in the morning between villagers and the security forces while the combing operation was still underway.
While one soldier of the territorial army was killed, another sustained injuries as a joint operation by the Rashtriya Rifles, troops of special operations group (SOG) of the police and the Central Reserve Police Force brought down the militants in Batagund village, spokesman of army's Udhampur headquartered Northern Command said.
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The search operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon the forces, who retaliated.
Police sources said a joint team of the police’s special operation group, SOG, the Army and CRPF launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in the area after having specific inputs about the presence of militants in Batgund-Kapran hamlet.
The militants were hiding in a residential house. During the subsequent gunfight, four militants and their bodies have been recovered. The police suspect that there are two more bodies
The operation began late on Saturday following a tip off received by the security forces. "As we tightened the cordon around the hold-up group, they started firing, triggering the encounter," a police officer said.
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The gun battle continued through the night as the security personnel chased out militants from their hideouts and gunned them down.
With daybreak, villagers tried to disrupt the operation clashing with the personnel.
Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said the identity and group affiliation of the slain militants is being ascertained.
He said weapons and war-like stores have been recovered from the encounter site.
The operation is over, the defence spokesman said.
A youth identified as Faizan Ahmad suffered an injury as a bullet grazed his head. He was shifted to Srinagar, the police officer said
(with inputs from agencies)
