Bijbehara encounter: Two militants killed in encounter at Anantnag Bagender Mohalla town in South Kashmir

Two militants were killed in an encounter early on Thursday in in Bagender Mohalla of Bijbehara in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district. The duo was killed after a gunfight broke out between them and a joint team of the Indian Army’s 3 Rashtriya Rifles unit and a Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

#UPDATE: Two terrorists have been neutralised in the exchange of fire with security forces in Bagender Mohalla of Bijbehara in South Kashmir's Anantnag district. Search operation is underway. https://t.co/Yl41By46fM

— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2019

The exchange of fire began while security forces had been carrying out cordon and search operations after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the area. An official said that the militants opened fire on the troopers when they were closing in on their hiding spot. A search operation is underway as the forces believe there were three militants in hiding in Bagender Mohalla. The troopers have recovered the bodies of the two militants, along with the ammunition, the official added. The militants were identified as Safder Amin Bhat and Burhan Ahmad Ganie. One AK rifle and an SLR were found. The cordon began around 2 am and went on for around three hours, according to a report, which quoted sources as saying that the two militants killed in the encounter were both local residents of Bijbehara. Mobile internet services have been snapped in Anantnag, reports said.