Five terrorists were killed during an operation in the Shopian district in a mosque
Seven terrorists have been killed in two separate operations by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, police said today. Four army soldiers have been injured in the encounters, police said, adding that their condition is now stable.
Five terrorists were killed during an operation in the Shopian district. The operation was launched on Thursday in the area. The killed terrorists are believed to be members of the Ansar Gazwat-ul Hind (AGH), a radical group in Kashmir which is an Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Police said during the operation terrorists took shelter in a mosque.
"We sent people including the Imam of the mosque inside to convince the holed-up terrorists to surrender. But they refused and resorted to firing," said Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of police.
He said they used tear smoke shells to flush out the terrorists so that mosque was not seriously damaged.
"We were able to save the mosque and also kill five terrorists inside it," Mr Kumar said.
The officer said that in the encounter, two terrorists managed to escape during the initial shoot-out, but they were eventually chased and killed in Pulwama's Tral area this morning.
During anti-terrorist operations, police and security forces destroy target houses where terrorists are suspected to be hiding.
On Thursday, a palatial house on the outskirts of Srinagar was damaged after police suspected terrorists to be inside. But after a 17-hour long operation no one was found.
Among the terrorists who were killed is Imtiaz Shah, the chief of AGH in Kashmir, a police official said.
After this operation, police said Ansar Gazwat-ul Hind has been wiped out of Kashmir.