Four terrorists killed in J&K encounter, one surrenders

SRINAGAR: Four Al-Badr terrorists including a district commander were killed, while another surrendered before security forces during an anti-terror operation in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Friday.
The slain ultras were identified as Al-Badr district commander Shakoor Parray and Suhail Bhat — who were involved in the abduction and killing of a panchayat member in Pulwama district — while the other two were identified as Zubair Nengroo and Shakir-ul-Jabbar. “Terrorist Shakoor Parray Al Badr District commander and another terrorist Suhail Bhat who abducted and killed Khanmoh’s Panch neutralized in today’s encounter (sic),” J&K Police confirmed in a tweet.
In the afternoon, a joint team of Army’s 44RR, CRPF and J&K Police launched a cordon-and-search operation in Kiloora village acting on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. As the security forces neared the suspected hideout, the holed-in terrorists opened fire at the search party triggering an encounter in which the four ultras were killed. Meanwhile, the fifth terrorist, identified as Shoaib Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Awantipora, surrendered before Col A K Singh of 44RR during the fire exchange, police said.
“A terrorist surrenders while four terrorists have been eliminated in an ongoing encounter in Kiloora area of Shopian district. Two AKs and three pistols recovered. Joint operation in progress,” defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said in a statement.