Five militants killed in exchange of fire during encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district

Srinagar: In yet another operational success, security forces gunned down five militants in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district on Wednesday, taking the number of ultras killed in the last four days to 14, police said. A cordon-and-search operation was launched in the Sugoo area of Shopian in south Kashmir in the morning on receiving specific information about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said. He said the operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired upon a search party of the forces, who retaliated. Two militants were killed in the initial exchange of fire and the forces had gunned down three more by the time the last reports came in. This is the third major encounter in Shopian in four days. Nine Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a self-styled commander, were killed in two gun battles with the security forces on Sunday and Monday.