The road, the alternative link between Kashmir and rest of the country, was closed after the season's first heavy snowfall in the Jammu region.
Authorities shut down schools and other educational institutions in north Kashmir as a precautionary measure for maintaining law and order.
The gun battle had ensued when alert army jawans had foiled an infiltration bid by the terrorists.
In a major arms haul, alert Indian army troops recovered 40 weapons from near the Line of Control in the Farkian Gali area of north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Saturday.
Strict restrictions have been imposed in Kupwara town, Kralgund, Handwara, Magam and Langate areas in north Kashmir to maintain law and order.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Thursday ordered a magisterial probe into the killing of three persons by the army on the Line of Control after it said an infiltration bid had been foiled in north Kashmir's Machil sector of Kupwara district.
Col Sharma, who was among five security forces personnel killed during an encounter with terrorists in north Kashmir late on Saturday night, is the second commanding officer of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles who lost his life in anti-terror operation.
This is second attack on security forces in Handwara area in the past 36 hours.
More than 11000 pilgrims left from the two base camps for the yatra. Officials said that over 6000 pilgrims left for the cave shrine from north Kashmir Baltel base camp while 5000 left from the south Kashmir Nunwan base camp early Thursday morning.
Four Indian Army personnel, a Border Security Force sub-inspector and six civilians were killed while four security forces personnel and eight civilians were injured in the firing by Pakistan during the multiple ceasefire violations between Gurez and Uri sectors in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
The Army foiled two infiltration bids and engaged terrorists in a gun battle in north Kashmir Kupwara district killing seven terrorists. A defence spokesman said in Srinagar that troops foiled an infiltration bid on the Line of Control in the Tangdhar sector of north Kashmir Kupwara district, killing three militants.
Police said army and Special Operations Group of the police on a specific information surrounded a forest area in the mountains of picturesque Bungus valley of north Kashmir's Kupwara district during which the hiding terrorists fired upon the surrounding security forces. "The troops also retaliated and returned the fire, triggering a fierce gun battle and so far an army trooper and two terrorists have been killed," a senior police officer told rediff.com.
To effectively deal with the law and order situation, the Jammu and Kashmir government announced the carving out of a separate police district in north Kashmir Sopore town.
An army major, a naval commando and two top militants were among the eight persons killed in two encounters in north Kashmir in the past 24 hours.
Acting on specific information about the presence of militants in Putshai area of Lolab in the district, security forces cordoned off the area and began a search operation on Thursday, an army official said.
The constable, Rameez Parrey, had come home on holiday a few days ago.
The slain terrorist has been identified as Shafat Hussain Wani, a resident of Wagoora area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district.
Indian and Pakistan troops exchanged heavy fire in the Nowgam sector of the Line of Control in north Kashmir Baramulla district on Wednesday after two paramilitary border security force troopers were injured in sniper fire from across the LoC.
In a major ceasefire violation, the Pakistan army on Thursday night fired mortar rounds at the Indian positions in the Keran sector, along the Line of Control in north Kashmir.A defence spokesman said, "Fourteen mortar rounds were fired at our positions in the Keran sector of the LoC in north Kashmir's Kupwara district last night"."Our troops retaliated with small arms and during the search of the area, bodies of two terrorists were recovered," said an army official.
The four-year-old Labrador and her handler Bashir Ahmed War laid down their lives to prevent an infiltration bid by terrorists in north Kashmir.
The recoveries from their car included 10 hand grenades, two AK magazines and 27 AK rounds, a police official said.
The minimum temperature in Srinagar was recorded at a low of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius.
Security forces on Saturday morning killed a top commander of Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad in north Kashmir's Baramulla district.
An army officer, a trooper and three terrorists have been killed in the three-day-long north Kashmir gunfight, according to the army's spokesman in Srinagar.
Top Al Badr terrorist Abu Hamza killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday.
Should we be exposing our women volunteers to the barbarity of actual combat?
Landslides have occurred near Ramban and Battery Cheshma which have forced the closure of the highway.
Fate of 13 political heavyweights hangs in the balance as 12 more constituencies in north Kashmir's Baramulla district and central Kashmir's Budgam district go to polls on Sunday in the fourth phase of the assembly elections.Among those in the fray are senior octogenarian Congress leader Ghulam Rasool Kar, who after being denied a party ticket, is contesting as an independent candidate from the Sopore constituency in north Kashmir.
A dozen paramilitary, central reserve police force (CRPF) troopers and policemen were injured in a North Kashmir grenade blast inside a police station on Friday morning.
An official said that the search operation turned into an encounter after terrorists fired upon the forces.
A senior police officer said troops of counter insurgency Rashtriya Rifles and police jointly surrounded a forest area near Lolab in frontier Kupwara district early on Thursday.
The killing of the two terrorists is a huge success for the forces, he said. Kumar said LeT terrorists were also behind the killing of Bhupinder Singh, Block Development Council chairman, Khag, in central Kashmir's Budgam district.
The annual pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath began on Saturday with over 7,000 pilgrims trekking the 17-km northern Baltel route.
Srinagar, the summer capital of the state, recorded a low of -4.2C, slightly up from the previous night's -4.9C.
The People's Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) swept the maiden District Development Council (DDC) polls by winning 110 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party by getting 75 seats after securing the largest vote share in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday.
Two militants and a soldier were killed on Sunday in a gun battle during infiltration bids by ultras at Keran and Tangdhar sectors along the Line of Control in Kashmir while an army officer lost his life in a mishap during a search operation.
Two militants were killed in a north Kashmir encounter early on Monday. A defence spokesman in Srinagar said two unidentified militants were killed in north Kashmir's Wattergam Rafiabad village of Baramulla district in an ongoing encounter on Monday morning.
Pakistan has been resorting to heavy mortar shelling along LoC in Jammu and Kashmir for the past over one month.
Three persons including a policeman and two militants were killed while 14 others including seven army men, three paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force troopers and four cops were wounded in an over 24-hour-long north Kashmir gunfight that ended on Wednesday evening.
Three persons including two militants and a civilian were killed in a north Kashmir gunbattle early on Saturday.
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