J&K: Three terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Pulwama

At least three terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said.

The security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Sirnoo village in Pulwama district of south Kashmir after receiving specific intelligence input about the presence of terrorists in the area, a police official said.

He said as the forces were conducting searches, the terrorists opened fire on them.

The forces retaliated, leading to an encounter, the official said.

He said the gunfight is going on. Further details are awaited. 

This comes three days after two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) affiliated terrorists were killed in an encounter that broke out in the Sopore region of Baramulla district.

According to figures compiled by security agencies, 86 personnel lost their lives in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018 while more than 240 terrorists have been killed this year so far.

Official figures reveal that more than 240 terrorists have been killed this year so far, which is the highest since 2010. There were more than 587 incidents of violence in the state this year till December 2 in which 37 civilians were killed.

Figures reveal that 270 terrorists were killed by security forces in 2010. The figure came down to 119 in 2011. Around 84 terror operatives were killed in 2012 followed by 100 in 2013, 110 in 2014, and 113 in 2015. Despite unrest, security forces killed 165 terrorists in 2016. Last year 209 terrorists were neutralised by security forces.

War on terror has also claimed lives of 86 security force personnel in 2018 in Jammu and Kashmir— the highest in the last 10 years. Of the 86 security men slain in the line of duty, 44 were policemen, 30 were Army soldiers and rest were from the different paramilitary forces deployed in the terror-struck state. The number of casualties of the security forces in 2018 is the highest since 2007 when 182 security personnel lost their lives.