Gunbattle with militants in Doda

A fierce gunbattle today broke out between Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militants and security forces in Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir, police said.

Following a tip-off about the presence of two Hizb militants Touseef and Imran in a cave hideout in Tandla forest belt of Gandoh tehsil, Rastriya Rifles (RR) and police jointly launched a cordon and search operation this morning, a senior police officer told PTI.

Militants, taking benefit of a natural rock-cave, fired on the troops from machine guns and also burst rifle grenades. The operation team also retaliated resulting in heavy exchange of firing between the two sides, he said.

Additional troops was rushed to the spot with heavy weaponry to track down the militants, the officer said.