Army jawan, militant killed in encounter in South Kashmir’s Pulwama

An army man and a militant were killed on Thursday in a gunfight in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

There were reports that a second soldier had succumbed to injuries sustained in the operation. There was no official confirmation.

The gun battle in Samboora village of Pampore in south Kashmir was still on and the identity of the militants would be known once the bodies were recovered, police said.

This is the second exchange with militants after the Centre restarted the dialogues process to find a solution to the 30-year-old Kashmiri insurgency.

The Centre on October 23 appointed former Intelligence Bureau chief Dineshwar Sharma to talk to all stakeholders in Kashmir. Sharma is expected to visit the Valley on November 6.

Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Samboora on Thursday evening after being alerted about the presence of militants, officials said.

As the security forces were conducting searches, militants opened fire and a gun battle followed.

The government has stepped up the offensive against militants in the state. So far, 160 militants have been killed in the Valley this year.

Militant hideout busted in J-K

A militant hideout was busted and a cache of arms and ammunition recovered by security forces in the border state’s Baramulla district, a police official said.

Security forces launched a search operation in Drang forest area on being tipped off about a militant hideout, he said.

The search yielded an AK rifle, a pistol and explosive devices.

(With agency inputs)