Shopian Encounter: Five militants gunned down; operation still on

Security forces on Saturday gunned down at least five militants in an encounter that broke out on Friday night in Kiloora village of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian. While the body of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist, Umar Malik, was recovered on Friday night, four more bodies of militants were recovered from the encounter site on Saturday morning.

"Four more bodies of terrorists visible at encounter site kiloora Shopian taking the total to 5 terrorists killed," Jammu and Kashmir DGP SP Vaid tweeted.

4 more bodies of terrorists visible at encounter site kiloora Shopian taking the total to 5 terrorists killed. Good Job boys , good for peace.

— Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) August 4, 2018

Following a tip-off by local sources about the presence of militants in the area, security forces on Friday had launched a cordon and search operation to nab the militants.

As the security forces were closing in, the militants opened fire, prompting them to retaliate. So far, five militants have been killed in the encounter that was still underway when the last reports came in.

Earlier, two militants were killed and an Army Jawan, Sawar Vijay Kumar, lost his life an a separate encounter in Baramulla on Friday. The militants gunned down were identified as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) members - Riyaz Ahmed Dar, a resident of Sopore and Khursheed Ahmed Malik, a resident of Pulwama.