Shopian: A Hizbul Mujahideen militant has been killed in an ongoing gunfight between the forces and militants in Nadigam area of South Kashmir’s Shopian district, officials said on Wednesday.
A senior police officer told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that an unidentified militant has been killed, whose identification is being ascertained while the operation is on in the area.
Earlier, an official said that a joint team of Police, Army and CRPF launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) on specific information about the presence of militants in the area.
He said that as the joint team of forces approached towards the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them, which was retaliated, triggering a gunfight.
A police spokesman in a statement to KNO said that based on a specific input generated by Shopian Police regarding presence of militants in village Nadigam area of Shopian, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by Police, Army and 178Bn CRPF in the area.
“During the search operation, as the joint search party proceeded towards the suspected spot, the hiding militant fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party which was retaliated effectively leading to an encounter,” the spokesman said.
He said that in the ensuing encounter, one militant was killed and his body was retrieved from the site of the encounter. “He has been identified as Umar Ishfaq Malik alias Musa son of Ab Ahad Malik resident of Bongam, Shopian associated with Hizbul Mujahideen,” the spokesman said, adding that the killed militant was a categorized militant and was active since 2020
