Srinagar: Two militants affiliated with Al-Badr outfit were killed in an encounter on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday, police said.
According to police, they along with Army’s 50 Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF laid a cordon and search operation in Khonmoh area in Srinagar based on input about the presence of militants.
When the presence of militants was confirmed during searches in a house, police said militants fired on forces ensuing into an encounter. According to locals, the militants were holed up in a two storey residential house which sustained partial damages in the firefight.
“They were given repeated opportunities to surrender, however they fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party which retaliated leading to an encounter,” police added.
This encounter according to locals took place in a two storey residential house which has also sustained partial damages.
Initially, a militant was killed in the exchange of fire. The second militant, according to police, was killed around 11:30 am. Two pistols, one hand grenade and three under barrel grenades were recovered from the procession of slain militants, it added.
The killed militants were identified as Umar Mushtaq Khanday son of Mushtaq Ahmed resident of Tulbagh village in Pampore and Wasim Bashir Pandit son of Bashir Ahmed resident of Kakapora area of Pulwama.
The bodies of the slain will be taken for burial by police as has been a norm since the outbreak of Covid-19 last year. Bodies of slain militants are not being handed to their families and are being buried away either in Sonamarg or Baramulla district. This has resulted in no gatherings at funerals of militants, which was seen as one of the factors for youth to sign up as militants.
Similarly, police said that last rites of the two militants would be performed after conducting medico-legal formalities and only nearest family members of the duo would be allowed to participate in the last rites.
An Army spokesperson, however, in a statement said militants were affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Reader correspondent