Three Militants Killed In Kashmir’s Awantipora Encounter: Police

Three militants were killed in a brief encounter with security forces in the Awantipora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Friday, the police said. This is the first encounter of 2021. The police described the encounter as “brief and effective”.

The police said all three trapped militants were killed shortly after the gunfight started. The operation was launched after receiving specific inputs about the presence of the militants in the area.

Inspector-general of police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, told reporters that the slain militants were locals hailing from Tral town and were new recruits.  He said one AK-47 rifle, two pistols and as many grenades were recovered from the encounter site. He said all three were affiliated with the militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen.