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14 LeT militants killed in Jammu encounters

Last updated on: April 02, 2010 13:03 IST

Fourteen militants of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba have been killed in a series of fierce encounters since last Saturday in the mountainous districts of Rajouri and Reasi in Jammu.

Four Army personnel have been killed and a police officer injured in the encounters.

The clashes between the security forces and militants began on Saturday, after the Army and the police launched a cordon operation in frontier Rajouri district, acting on a specific tip-off about the presence of a group of heavily armed militants.

The first encounter began after security forces mounted a massive search operation in the forest area of Dharmshal in Rajouri district. Two militants were killed in the encounter, informed Rajouri district police chief Shafaqat Wattali.

He added that four LeT militants and four army troopers were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Kandi area of the district on Wednesday. One police officer was injured in the exchange of fire.

"Six militants of the LeT outfit were killed on Thursday evening in a joint army-police operation in the forest area near Bagla village of Rajouri district," Wattali told rediff.com.

A senior police officer said two more militants of the outfit were killed by security forces during a fierce encounter in the Behma forest area of Reasi district on Friday.

"The operation is still on," he added.

The ecnounters came in the wake of the army's statement that 400 militants were waiting to infiltrate from across the border into Kashmir.

Mukhtar Ahmad In Srinagar