Srinagar, Sep 13 (KNS): Two Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants including a mastermind of Sopore IED blast were killed on Thursday in an encounter that broke out in Chankipora area of Sopore town in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Both the slain militants as per the police are foreigners, saying that one among the slain militants was important commanders of JeM and was active since 2014.
Officials said that on credible inputs about the presence of militants in the area, a joint operation was launched by the Police and forces in the wee hours of this morning.
“The hiding militants fired upon the searching party in the area, resulted in a gunfight,” they said, adding that initially, the civilians were evacuated from the encounter site to the safer areas before engaging the hiding militants in an encounter.
Police spokesman in a statement issued to KNS said that from the incriminating material recovered from the encounter site, the slain militants have been identified as foreigners from Pakistan namely Ali alias Athar and Zia-ur-Rehman.
“The slain militants were affiliated with JeM,” he said, adding that Ali was one of the important commanders of JeM and was active since 2014. “He was mastermind of the Sopore IED blast in which four policemen were killed. Besides, both of them were involved in attacks on security force establishments and civilian atrocities,” he said.
Meanwhile, Police has registered a case in this regard while as the investigation has been initiated. (KNS)