Two encounters have reportedly broken out between security forces and militants in south Kashmir. While one gun battle is underway in Bijbehara area of Anantnag, another has simultaneously broken out in Kulgam’s Hadipora area. The two gunfights come a day after seven militants were killed in Kashmir on Friday in two separate encounters, in Pulwama and Shopian districts of south Kashmir.

On Friday morning, security forces began operation in Nowbugh Tral area of Awantipora, killing two militants. In another encounter, three militants were killed and two security force personnel were injured in an encounter with militants in South Kashmir’s Shopian, police said. A joint team of police, army and CRPF personnel launched a cordon-and-search operation in the locality following information about the presence of militants there.

After two militants managed to get into a mosque on Thursday as the encounter was on, the forces sent the brother of a militant, a local Imam and the head cleric of the masjid to persuade them to lay their arms and surrender.

The security forces claimed that with these two encounters, they “wiped out” the al Qaeda-inspired Ansar Ghazwat-ul-hind (AGH) terror group from Kashmir Valley. Dilbag Singh, director general of Jammu and Kashmir Police, said the terrorists were killed in Shopian and Tral. “Both operations are over. Five terrorists in the first and two in the second operation have been neutralised,” Singh told News18.