Militant shot dead near LoC

Army troops today shot dead an unidentified militant in a gunbattle near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kupwara district, making it the second such incident in two days.     However, it was not clear whether the ultra was an infiltrator or part of the group which had tried to sneak into the valley from across the border on Wednesday, defence spokesman Lt Col JS Brar told PTI.     "An encounter took place near the LoC in Keran sector in which an unidentified militant was killed," he said.     Army had foiled an infiltration bid in the upper reaches of Budinambal near Ustad post in the sector, 145 km from here in North Kashmir, on Wednesday by killing two heavily-armed militants.     However, other militants of the group had fled back during the encounter and the army had launched a search operation.