Two Hizbul Mujhadeen militants were killed in a fierce encounter in North Kashmir’s Sopore town of Baramulla district on Friday.Police identified the slain militants as Imtiyaz Ahmed Lone son of Abdul Khaliq of Ussan Pattan and Altaf Ahmed Mir son of Abdul Rashid a resident of Bratkalan Sopore.The gun battle occurred in Chana Mohalla village of Sopore when Indian troopers along with local counter insurgency brigade personnel cordoned off the area. The search operation was launched after the inputs about the presence of militants in a local house.“The exchange of firing between the troopers and militants led to the death of both the holed up militants,” a police official told CNS.Witnesses added that during the anti-militant operation, the locals from multiple hamlets tried to move towards encounter site. Amid pro-freedom and anti-India slogans, the protesters clashed with police and resorted to stone-pelting.
As the news about the death of the two militants spread in the area, a large number of people again hit the roads and tried to disrupt the operation. The government forces according to witnesses fired pellets and tear-smoke shells that led to the injuries of several persons including a cop.Reports said that a woman sustained serious injuries and was shifted to SKIMS Srinagar for advanced treatment.Besides, Bomai Sopore, the clashes also erupted in native places of the slain militants. Intense clashes were reported from Palhalan Pattan where police fired tear-smoke shells to disperse the protesters. Thousands of people participated in the last rites of the slain militants. Huge anti-India processions were taken out in Pattan and Sopore mourn the death of two militants. (CNS)