Shopian: In the third encounter in Shopian district since Sunday morning, five more militants were killed, this time in an open orchard in Sugoo village, some 10 kilometers from Shopian town.
According to police sources, a nocturnal cordon and search operation was launched by a joint team of government forces including 44 Rashtriya Rifles of army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and Central Reserve Police Force in the orchards at Sugoo. They said that as soon as the forces headed towards a suspected spot, they were fired upon by the hiding militants, starting a gunfight that led to the killing of five militants in a six-hour-long operation.
On Sunday, five militants were killed at Reban village and the next day, four more militants were killed in Shopian district.
The site where the encounter took place was a vast area of apple orchards on the slope of a hill, popularly known as Sugoo-Vuder. It was almost 1.5 kilometers away from any residential area. A sleeping bag was lying near the site and all five militants were killed in open space, three at one place and the two others some hundred meters away.
Srinagar-based army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia in a statement said that five militants were killed, two AK 47 rifles, 1 SLR, one pistol, and other ammunition was recovered from the site.
Police in a statement said that the operation was launched on credible information about presence of militants. They said that the slain militants belonged to Hizb and LeT and the Shopian district commander was among the slain. The identity of none of the slain militants was disclosed by police.
Pertinently in district Shopian, it was the third operation in the last three days in which 14 militants including top commanders were killed.
Local sources said that contact with militants was established at around 6am and the last militant was killed at around 1pm.
After the news of the gunfight spread in the area, scores of youths hit the streets and hurled stones at government forces, who retaliated with tear smoke shells and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. There were no reports of injuries on either side.

Raashid Hassan