Two militants, one each of Ansaar Gazwat-ul-Hind (AuGH) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed in an encounter at Tral area of Awantipora in Pulwama District of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on April 6, reports Daily Excelsior. A Police official said that based on a specific input generated by Ganderbal Police regarding presence of militants in Tral area of Awantipora, a raid was conducted by Awantipora Police in the area. “During the raid, as the search party proceeded towards the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired indiscriminately at the search party which was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter,” the official said. He said that one militant was killed in the first firefight. The killed militants have been identified as Umar Nabi Teli alias Talha son of Ghulam Nabi Teli, resident of Ladoo Khrew and Shafat Muzaffar Sofi alias Muavia son of Muzaffar Ahmad Sofi, resident of Batagund Tral.
Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Srinagar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that Security Forces (SFs) have killed 66 militants of JeM from December 21 to March 22, which has led to frustration among militants, who are now attacking the soft targets. “The two slain in Tral encounter were operating in Srinagar. After civilian and soft target killing, they shifted to Tral area and were tracked and killed,” the IGP said, adding that in Pulwama, poor labourers from outside who had come here to earn their livelihood were attacked.
Separately, SFs on April 6 recovered a cache of ammunition and a grenade from a militant hideout during a cordon-and-search operation in the Kot Budhan forests of Mahore in Reasi District of J&K, reports Daily Excelsior. A live grenade, four AK-47 rounds, a AK-47 cartridge, two damaged syringes, a lighter, INR 1,400 cash, a pair of scissors, six utensils, a torch, two blankets and some clothes were found at the hideout, the officials said.