J&K forces kill terrorist duo, find bodies of 2 slain village guards near rivulet

SRINAGAR/JAMMU: Security forces killed two terrorists from an unnamed outfit in a gunfight at Sopore in J&K's Baramulla Friday after a cordon-and-search operation overnight based on local inputs led them to a hideout with an arms dump.

North Kashmir's third encounter between forces and terrorists in four days coincided with security personnel in Jammu division tracing the bodies of two village defence guards (VDGs) abducted and killed the previous morning to a remote site next to a rivulet at Keshwan in Kishtwar district.

The duo, Nazir Ahmed and Kuldeep Kumar from Ohli Kuntwara, had been reported missing since early Thursday. The manhunt for their killers — members of Kashmir Tigers, a faction linked to Pakistan-backed Jaish-e-Mohammed — has taken a joint police, CRPF and Army team deep into the forested hills of Kuntwara, Ohli, and Munzla Dhar.

The Sopore operation was built around inputs about armed members of a terrorist outfit hiding in a house in Sagipora, SP Divya D said. "Security forces also found a large cache of assorted weapons and ammunition at the encounter site. Details are awaited as the operation is underway."

In two previous gunfights with forces since Tuesday, a terrorist each was killed in Kupwara and Bandipora districts. Seven terrorists have been shot dead since the start of this month.

The Kishtwar killings triggered street protests amid a general strike demanding sustained security operations to "eliminate terrorism". Hundreds gathered in the Drabshalla area of the district, burning tyres and blocking roads and raising slogans against Pakistan.

While claiming responsibility for the killings, Kashmir Tigers shared images of the blindfolded victims with their hands tied and their faces bloodied.