SHOPIAN: A militant was killed on Wednesday in an encounter with government forces in an orchard area between Nadigam and Nowpora villages in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, police said.
The slain militant was identified by police as Umar Ishfaq Malik aka Musa, son of Abdul Ahad Malik, a resident of Bongam locality in main town Shopian.
A cordon and search operation in the area was launched by a joint team of government forces including 34 Rashtriya Rifles of army, Jammu and Kashmir Police, and 178th battalion of Central Reserve Police Force after inputs about the presence of militants in the area, police said in a statement.
The police statement said that as soon as the joint search party headed towards the suspected spot, the hiding militant fired upon the forces, which was retaliated, ensuing into an encounter.
The statement said that the militant had taken refuge in an underground hideout and was killed by the forces later in the day. They said that one AK 47, a pistol and other ammunition was recovered from the possession of the slain militant.
The police said that Malik was active in the area since November 2020 and was involved in the attack on an assistant police inspector at Amshipora village of the district on Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, government forces carried out cordon and search operations at Trenz, Awneera and Baskushan villages of Shopian district during the day. However, all these three military operations ended without any trace of militants found.
Locals from Awneera said that a joint team of government forces including 01 Rashtriya Rifles of army, 178th battalion of central reserve police force, and men of Jammu and Kashmir police arrived in the villages and carried out searches in multiple residential houses and other structures.
They said that the operation was called off later in the day without any militants found in the area. Similarly, searches were carried out at Trenz and Baskushan by a joint team of government forces.

Raashid Hassan