M A I N   N E W S

12 militants among 17 killed in J & K

SRINAGAR, Sept 24 (UNI) — Twelve militants and a special police officer (SPO) were among the 17 persons killed in the state, while forces averted an IED blast near the Dal Lake, during the past 24 hours.

Militants shot dead an SPO near Paibagh Mattan on the Anantnag-Pahalgam road last evening while another who was injured in a mine blast at Tata-Pani died in hospital this morning, taking the death toll in the blast to six.

An official spokesperson said security forces gunned down a Pakistani infiltrator soon after he crossed the border at Chak-e-Durma last evening. A pistol, two magazines, 12 rounds and Pakistani currency worth Rs 20 were recovered.

Also, troops of the K-force killed three militants in an encounter at Hapatnar in Baramula late last night. Two AK rifles and a pistol were recovered near the site of the encounter.

The security forces averted a tragedy when they detected and defused a powerful IED planted in a scooter near the lake last evening.

Eleven persons, including three civilians, were killed in Hill Kaka sector in a fierce clash between the militants and the forces. Eight militants were killed after they fired at a patrol party with automatic weapons. The forces retaliated and the clash continued for several hours, the spokesperson said.

A civilian was also wounded, and a large cache of arms and ammunition, including 40 rockets, 20 kg of RDX and 1000 sniper rounds were recovered near the site of the encounter.

The security forces arrested two militants during overnight raids.