The operation is still under way. Tribune file

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 25

Four militants were killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday, officials said.

The gunfight broke at Kapran village of Shopian around 1.30 am when a joint team of the police, Army and CRPF were carrying a cordon and search operation after a specific input about the presence of militants in the area.

“As the forces zeroed in on the suspected area, the militants opened fire, triggering a gunfight. In the gunfight that followed, four militants have been killed so far,” a police officer said. The toll may mount as the operation is still under way.

While identity and the group affiliation of militants is being established by police, sources said the slain include top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba

This is the second major encounter in south Kashmir since Friday. On November 23, six local militants, including a top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander accused of murdering top journalist Shujaat Bukhari in June this year, were killed in a gunfight in Bijbehara area of Anantnag district.