Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with security forces in central Kashmir's Budgam district, police said.
Arms and ammunition recovered from the site included an AK-56 and explosives. Internet services have been suspended in Srinagar for now.
Commenting on the encounter, T Singh, SSP said:
The operation lasted the entire night, we killed and recovered bodies of three terrorists, along with an SLR and a pistol. We are yet to search the house where terrorists were hiding. They later set it on fire.
The militants were identified as Aaqib Ahmed (resident of Rawalpra), Shajahan Ahmed (resident of Nowhatta) and Javed Ahmed Sheikh (resident of Narbal), all three from Srinagar. All three militants are B Category, the A Category consisting of first-in-command leaders.
Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Redwora area of Budgam on Tuesday evening after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area, said a police official who refused to be identified.
He said the search operation turned into an encounter as the security forces were fired upon by the militants.
The operation was halted for the night, but the security forces maintained the cordon of the area to stop the militants from escaping. The gunfight resumed on Wednesday morning.
The encounter came a day after a bus carrying Amarnath yatris came under attack by terrorists, killing seven people and injuring at least 19 others.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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