Three militants were killed in the Naranag forest area of the Ganderbal district in an encounter with security forces, a police source said. They, according to the source, could have entered the Valley from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Gurez sector.
The Pakistan army had been violating the ceasefire in the Gurez sector for the last three days with the aim to facilitate infiltration of terrorists, said defence sources.
In another encounter, three militants were killed in Thor village of Ramban district. The militants had entered a house and taken its inmates hostage, who were rescued. A soldier was also killed and two cops were injured in the gunfight.
The slain terrorists belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen. Arms and ammunition were seized from them. They had infiltrated with an aim to revive militancy in the Chenab Valley, the police said.
Meanwhile, militants hurled a grenade at the security forces at Nawa Kadal in the old Srinagar area. The grenade exploded without causing any damage, the police said.
Police said four terrorists have been killed in the encounter between holed up terrorists and the security forces in Guddar village of Kulgam district.
"An army officer sustained injury in the operation. He has been shifted to hospital for treatment.
"Exact identities of the slain terrorists are being ascertained. One of them has so far been identified as a local", police said.
After receiving specific information about a group of terrorists hiding in Guddar village, security forces including the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), special operations group (SOG) of local police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had launched a cordon and search operation in the village in Kulgam district.
As the security forces closed in on the hiding terrorists, they came under heavy automatic gunfire after which an encounter broke out which has now ended, but searches are still going on in the area, police said.
Earlier this month, five Indian Army special forces soldiers and five terrorists were killed in a gunfight on the Line of Control. The Indian Army had launched Operation Randori Behak in Keran sector, at the Line of Control and engaged Pakistan-supported infiltrators in a close quarters battle in heavy snow, neutralising the entire infiltrating batch of five terrorists.
Four soldiers under the command of a Junior Commissioned Officer from one of the most professional Para Special Forces units were heli-dropped near the LoC after information on the infiltrators was received.
However, the Army lost five of its best soldiers, three on the site and two more succumbed while they were airlifted to a nearby military hospital.
The Indian Army Special Forces squad was led by Subedar Sanjeev Kumar and included Havildar Davendra Singh, Paratrooper Bal Krishan, Paratrooper Amit Kumar and Paratrooper Chhatrapal Singh. All of them were killed in action.
(IANS)