Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants were killed in a gunfight at Hajin area of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Tuesday morning.An army officer said following a specific input about the presence of militants, a search operation was launched by 13RR and SOG at Bonikhan village of the Hajin. He said as the searches were underway, the militants fired upon forces, ensuing a gunfight.“In the gunfight, we killed two heavily-armed militants,” he said. Sources said that militants were initially in a residential house and later were killed in an open field as they apparently tried to flee the cordon. The identity of the militants is being ascertained but they appear to be foreign fighters, sources said.The army officer said that government forces recovered two AK 47 rifles, one UBGL and other “war-like stores” from the slain militants. He said the operation was conducted in a built-up area and the forces “ensured that there is no collateral damage to the houses and civil population”.
Police sources said that apart from scrapped notes, the new denomination notes of Rs. 2000 were recovered from the slain militants. “Two notes of Rs. 2000 were recovered from the slain,” they said, adding that a probe has been started in this regard. The army said that they have handed over the recovered currency to police and they have no information about new notes.Meanwhile, soon after the encounter, scores of people in Hajin staged a protest and demanded bodies of two militants for burial from police. The protesters raised slogans in favour of Islam and freedom. However, police sources said that the bodies of the duo have been taken to Boniyar for silent burial by police.(GNS)