Army said the group of terrorists was involved in the killing of a Jammu and Kashmir policeman
Five terrorists were killed on Saturday in an encounter that carried on for 12 hours in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian, 55 kilometers from the state capital, Srinagar. The terrorists belonged to LeT, Al-Badar and Hizbul Mujahideen terror groups.
A large cache of arms and ammunition, including four AK-47 rifles and one pistol, has been recovered. The Army said the group of terrorists was involved in the killing of a Jammu and Kashmir policeman, and snatching four weapons from the guard of a political leader. The terrorists were also involved in threatening civilians and special police officers or SPOs.
"The encounter started yesterday. Last night one terrorist was killed and today morning bodies of four terrorists have been found", said SP Vaid, DG, Jammu and Kashmir.
"Among those killed is Umar Malik, who was active since April last year. He was the leader of this group. The rest were young boys who became active two to three months back", said Brigadier Harbir Singh.
The encounter sparked clashes between security forces and protestors. Hundreds of protestors marched to the encounter spot. The police used force to disperse the protestors. A civilian was killed in firing by security forces following clashes, after the terrorists gave a gun salute to dead terrorists at their funeral.
The Shopian encounter comes just a day after two terrorists were killed in north Kashmir's Sopore.