Baramulla: Three Lashkar-e-Toiba militants were killed on Sunday in an encounter with government forces in a village on the outskirts of Sopore town. A residential house was blasted to rubble by government forces in the encounter on Sunday afternoon, local sources told Kashmir Reader.
Official sources said that army’s 22RR, paramilitary CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police launched a joint operation in Reban village in police district Sopore on Saturday night after receiving credible information of presence of a group of militants in the area.
They said that as the forces reached near the suspected spot at around 1:00 am in the night, militants opened fire. The forces retaliated and a gunfight ensued. Three militants were eventually gunned down in the encounter which continued till the afternoon.
Local sources in Reban village said that they heard the sound of firing around 1 am for some time. Later in the day the firing was heard intermittently.
During the encounter a residential house was blasted with explosives by the government forces in the afternoon, the local sources said, adding that the sound of the blast created fear among the local residents.
Srinagar based spokesperson of army Lt Col Rajesh Kalia said that three militants were killed and the operation is on.
Late in the evening, Police in a statement said that the killed militants were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Toiba. They identified the two militants as Abu Rafia alias Usman and Saifullah, both from Pakistan. The identity of third militant was not confirmed.
Usman, according to police, was active in the valley since 2016. It said that they were involved in many militancy related incidents including Sopore attack on July 1. A CRPF soldier and a civilian were killed in the attack.
“Arms and ammunition including 3 Ak-47 rifles & other incriminating materials were recovered from the site of encounter. Also, search is in progress,” police said.

Mushtaq Ahamd