Two militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kupwara district of north Kashmir in the wee hours of Monday morning, a police spokesman said. The encounter broke out when security forces confronted a group of militants at Bhawan forests in Zachaldara area of Handwara, 95 kms from Srinagar, late on Sunday night, the spokesman said. Two militants were killed in the encounter which continued till the wee hours of Monday, he said.
Security personnel killed four top militants of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Tayiba but lost one army jawan in a day-long fierce gunbattle in the border district of Kupwara in north Kashmir on Friday.
Three militants were killed in an ongoing operation near the Line of Control in the Tangdhar sector of north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Friday, according to a defence spokesperson.
The launchpads across the Line of Control in Kashmir valley are abuzz with activity, with around 60 to 80 terrorists, believed to be Afghan returnee mercenaries, receiving training with a possible push expected during summer months, officials in Srinagar said.
A top terrorist commander of Lashkar-e-Tayiba outfit was killed in a fierce gunfight in north Kashmir frontier Kupwara district on Sunday morning.
Security forces launched the operation in Macchil sector in north Kashmir's Kupwara district following information about presence of terrorists in the area.
The families of the porters had received letters purportedly written by a soldier saying that they had been killed in a "staged encounter only for gallantary recognition."
National Conference president Omar Abdullah escaped unhurt in powerful hand grenade explosion at an NC rally at Kralgund in the northern border district on Kupwara late on Monday afternoon.
Mercury plummeted in Kashmir Valley on Thursdayafter a slight respite for few days, dropping further below the freezing point with Kargil recording a new low of minus 15.8 degrees Celsius this season.
No major clash was reported on Thursday from anywhere in Kashmir.
The bodies of the three persons killed in an alleged fake encounter on April 30 on the Line of Control (LoC) by the army were exhumed on Friday afternoon and were identified by the relatives.
The army on Monday said it had busted a militant hideout and recovered huge quantity of arms and ammunition in the continuing operation 'Thunder Strike' launched by it against militants in the north Kashmir forests on May 5.
The militants-Army gunfights in the north Kashmir Shamsbhari mountain range in the frontier Kupwara district claimed six more militants on Tuesday taking the toll to 25.
A flood alert was sounded on Thursday in Srinagar city as River Jhelum was flowing four feet above the danger mark after incessant rain, while 23 villages have been inundated by floods in south Kashmir districts of Anantnag and Kulgam.
A police spokesman said that troops of 2 Para-regiment of the Army and the police surrounded the Batnor Kooligam forest area of the frontier Kupwara district early on Thursday morning. "As the troops were scanning the forest, they came under heavy gunfire from a group of militants, triggering a fierce gunfight. The gunfight ended today afternoon, resulting in the death of the three Jaish militants, whose identities are still being established," the spokesman said.
Around 29 trains have been delayed by two to five hours due to foggy weather, a railway official said.
There has been a steady rise in the number of youth taking up arms in the Valley since 2014 onwards as compared to 2011, 2012, and 2013.
On sustained questioning, the SSP said, the trio admitted they are working for Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist outfit and were luring young boys into militancy.
The authorities also sealed the Lal Chowk city centre - the commercial hub of the city - by placing barricades and concertina wires on all entry and exit points leading to the area.
A high alert has been sounded along the Line of Control in Kashmir Valley as infiltration from across the border has seen a sudden spurt with terror groups including banned LeT and JeM believed to have sent nearly 20-25 cadres in the last 10 weeks.
"This Diwali, we thought of his comrades in arms, who suffer harsh climes and the enemy from across the border, as well as some within. We thought this would be a nice gesture for soldiers, who spend Diwali away from their families," said one of Santosh Mahadik's friends.
Dozens of students from the government higher secondary school in Newa area of Pulwama district staged a protest against the alleged high-handedness of security forces.
Fresh clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in Kashmir, even as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is set to visit the Valley on Saturday.
One soldier was killed and another wounded in the encounter. The injured trooper was evacuated to hospital for treatment.
Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded a low of -4.2C, slightly up from the previous night's -4.9C.
Mehbooba Mufti said that incidents like the ones at Handwara and Nathnusa are "unacceptable" and come as a major setback to the efforts of the state government in consolidating peace dividends in the state.
A high polling percentage of about 71 percent was recorded in the 18 constituencies of Jammu and Kashmir that went to polls on Tuesday in the second phase of the 5 phase assembly elections.
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Curfew continued to cripple the Valley for the tenth day.
For the fourth consecutive day, Monday, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained closed for traffic in the wake of landslides at some places, even as higher reaches in Kashmir received fresh snowfall overnight.
Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive and vulnerable areas to maintain law and order.
The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Friday ordered that the body of a civilian dubbed a terrorist and killed by the police during an encounter in Hyderpora last November be exhumed and handed to his family for last rites.
Nineteen candidates saw an extremely close contest in the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls in Jammu and Kashmir where the margin of victory was less than 100.
The all-time low recorded in the month of December in Srinagar is minus 12.8 degrees Celsius on December 13, 1934.
A 67-year-old resident, Mangat Ram and a BSF jawan was injured in the firing.
'The more harder India pushes its nationalism on to its population, the further away we send Kashmiris.' 'We should understand that the unrest in that state cannot be solved by demonetisation. There are much deeper causes,' says Aakar Patel.
Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in strength across the Valley for strict implementation of the prohibitory orders.
