Two militants killed in Pulwama district of south Kashmir

Two militants were on Tueday killed in a fierce gunbattle with security forces during an overnight operation in Pulwama district of south Kashmir that left a policeman injured. The encounter also triggered protests in the area with some youths pelting stones at the security forces. Police said the two militants were killed in the paddy fields between Ratnipora and Naru villages, where they were trapped by the search parties early this morning. They said a policeman was also injured in the firefight and was taken to hospital.

The identity and group affiliation of the slain militants is awaited as the search operation is still going on, the police said. Acting on specific input about the presence of militants in Ratnipora area of the district, a joint team of police and army cordoned off the area and launched a search operation late yesterday. As the search operation was on, the hiding militants fired upon the security forces. The forces retaliated triggering an encounter, police said. The gunbattle stopped late last night but resumed this morning and ended with the killing of both the militants.

Meanwhile, some youth staged protests in the surrounding areas of Rantipora this morning after the encounter resumed. According to the police, some youth in the surrounding area of the encounter site engaged in minor stone pelting on the security forces.

The protests were going on when the last reports came in, police said, adding no one was injured in the clashes.