M A I N   N E W S

3 militants killed in J & K

SRINAGAR, May 21 (PTI) — Five persons, including three militants, were killed and six injured in separate incidents today while militants abducted two persons in the Kashmir valley.

Two militants were killed as security forces launched an operation in the Lolab forest in Kupwara district, a defence ministry spokesman said.

The operation was launched by the army, the paramilitary forces and the police in the Sandganga forest of Lolab following information about presence of militants there.

Search parties fanned out in different directions after surrounding the forest and confronted militants around 9.00 a.m. The militants opened heavy fire on the approaching troops and in the ensuing shootout, two militants were killed.

One of the deceased militant was identified as Zahid Khan Afghani who was active in the area for the past six years. An AK assault rifle, a rocket launcher, six improvised explosive devices, eight grenades and 10 kg of explosives were recovered from the slain militants.

The operation in the forest area was still continuing and the death toll may go up as some more militants were trapped in the security cordon.

In another encounter, security forces shot dead a local militant of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen, Mohammad Akbar Gujjar alias ‘Akka’, during search operations at Arigam village in Pulwama district.

Another militant was injured during the operation but managed to escape. A manhunt has been launched in the area to track down the injured militant. An AK assault rifle, two grenades and some ammunition were recovered from the killed militant.

Militants shot dead a man at his house at Rinipora-Achabal in Anantnag district, while unidentified gunmen abducted two persons in Poonch district. The highly decomposed body of a man who was missing for the past 10 days was recovered in Baramula today.

Five persons were injured in a grenade attack at Nawakadal in Srinagar last evening. Three Pakistan-trained militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen were arrested by the police from different areas of Srinagar.

Security forces busted a militant hideout in Poonch district of Jammu division and recovered a big cache of ammunition and explosives, including 55 kg of research developed explosive (RDX), an official spokesman said in Jammu.