The police official said as the forces were conducting searches in the area, the hiding terrorists fired upon them

This is the first incident of Army men dying in gunfight with terrorists in the Valley this year. Defence sources have identified the slain soldiers as Santosh Yadav and Chavan Romit Tanaji.

Two soldiers were killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir’s Shopian on Saturday morning. A terrorist was also killed in the exchange of fire that started after a joint team of forces launched a military operation against the terrorists.

Defence sources have identified the slain soldiers as Santosh Yadav and Chavan Romit Tanaji. Both the slain soldiers were sepoys of the 1 Rashtriya Rifles (RR).

The police said they were trying to ascertain the identity of the slain terrorist.

On Saturday morning, a joint team of J-K Police, Army and paramilitary force cordoned off the Chermarg village of Zainpora in south Kashmir’s Shopian after receiving inputs about the presence of terrorists in the village. As the security forces zeroed in on the target, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire. The joint team of forces retaliated the fire leading to a fierce gunfight.

“ShopianEncounterUpdate: 01 terrorist killed. Search going on. Further details shall follow,” tweeted J-K Police.

This is the first incident of Army men dying in gunfight with terrorists in the Valley this year.