A police official said the search operation following specific information about the presence of terrorists turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired upon security forces, who retaliated

This is one of the many encounters that have taken place in Kashmir since the 21-day lockdown was clamped across the country to break the chain of Covid-19 infections.

Two militants were killed during a gun battle with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Friday, police said, in another such incident in the region.

The encounter started early in the morning after a cordon and search operation was launched by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with 44 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation Group (SOG) on Thursday night in Dairoo of Shopian district.

A police official said the search operation following specific information about the presence of terrorists turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired upon security forces, who retaliated.

The two terrorists were killed in the ensuing gunfight, the official said, adding their identity and group affiliation is being ascertained.

This is one of the many encounters that have taken place in Kashmir since the 21-day lockdown was clamped across the country to break the chain of Covid-19 infections.

Many terrorists have been killed in these gunfights this month. Police claimed to have killed 23-year-old Jaish-e-Mohammed commander in Sopore, who was active since 2018, earlier in April.