72 hours later, Handwara encounter continues, 7 including one civilian killed

The encounter which started on Friday at Babagund village of Langate, Handwara in north Kashmir's Kupwara district entered its third day today. Three CRPF jawans, two Jammu and Kashmir police personnel and a civilian have been killed so far in the encounter. This was after a terrorist who was hiding in debris of a house damaged in a joint operation opened fired on them. Two terrorists have also been killed in the gun battle. The civilian was killed during clashes with security forces following stone-pelting incident at the spot. In the last three days, two to three residential houses, where terrorists were believed to be hiding, have been destroyed, according to reports.

Earlier, on Thursday night at around 9:00 pm, the contingents of Army's 22 RR, 92 battalions, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and SOG conducted a cordon-and-search operation at Khanu-Babagund hamlet in Langate. 

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Reports said that the forces had also installed lights to prevent the terrorists from escaping in the darkness of the night. As of now, there is no information on which group the terrorists were affiliated with.

Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation following information about presence of terrorists there, the officials said. During the searches, the terrorists opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated, they said. There was lull in firing several times during the day but the terrorists would resume firing as soon as the security forces advanced towards the house where the ultras were hiding, the officials said. Clashes between a group of youngsters and security personnel took place near the encounter site, leaving four persons injured, the officials.

Earlier in the day, a civilian was injured in an IED blast set by terrorists in Tral area of Pulwama district. The incident took place at around 3 am in Amlar area, according to reports. Soon after the incident Police team reached the spot and an investigation is underway. The area has been cordoned off. IED was laid to target security forces patrol vehicles but seems to have exploded prematurely, according to reports.