Our Correspondent

Anantnag, March 28

Four militants were killed in two separate gunfights in the poll-bound Kashmir valley on Thursday.

Three local militants, which the police say was a combi-ned group of the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Toiba, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in the Kellar area of south Kashmir’s Shopian district during the wee hours of Thursday.

The slain militants have been identified as Sajad Khanday, Aqib Ahmad Dar and Basharat Ahmad Mir, all residents of Pulwama district.

The three of them, the police said, were involved in a number of attacks on security establishments.

“They had a long history of terror crimes and were wanted in many cases registered against them,” a police officer said.

The gunfight triggered in the Yarwan forest in the Kellar area at 2.30 am on Thursday. Soon after the gunfight, a cordon and search operation was launched in the area.

“The militants were hiding in the forest area, which was cordoned off following specific inputs regarding their presence,” the police officer said.

He said the militants opened indiscriminate fire in a bid to escape but were cornered by retaliatory firing.

“After a few hours of exchange of fire, all three militants were killed. Their bodies along with the weapons were retrieved from the site of the gunfight,” the police officer added.

As news of the militants’ killing spread despite the Internet being snapped, clashes erupted in parts of Shopian and Pulwama district. Hundreds of people took to streets and threw stones at the security forces deployed in these areas. The forces used tear-smoke shells and pellet guns to disperse the protesting youth. Later, thousands assembled to offer funeral prayers of the slain militants in their respective villages.

Meanwhile, another militant was killed in a separate gunfight in north Kashmir’s frontier Kupwara district.

The police said a cordon and search operation at Yaroo Langate, Handwara, turned into a gunfight when the party was fired upon by the hiding militants.

“In the ensuing encounter, one terrorist was killed and the body was retrieved from the encounter site. The identification and affiliation of the terrorist is being ascertained,” a police spokesman said.