Srinagar: Four militants were killed in an encounter, which broke out early Sunday morning in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Shopian following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said.
He said as the forces were conducting searches, the hiding militants fired upon them. The security forces retaliated the firing, triggering off a gunbattle, the official said, adding there were no reports of any casualties so far.
A police spokesperson identified them as Rafi Hassan Mir, Suhail Ahmad Bhat, Showkat Ahmad Mir and Azad Ahmad Khanday.
While Showkat Ahmad Mir had joined militant ranks in 2015, the other three had recently joined him. "Showkat was instrumental in recruiting Azad, Rafi and Suhail in terrorist ranks. Showkat was initially associated with Hizbul Mujahideen," he said.
As a precautionary measure authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in Shopian district.
While the spokesman did not comment on the affiliation of the slain militants, sources said they were affiliated to Ansar Gazwatul Hind, an offshoot of Al Qaeda.
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