Two Hizb militants killed in Sopore

They were reportedly behind a grenade attack on a police station

Army officers display the arms and ammunition recovered from the militants, who were killed during an encounter, in Sopore, north Kashmir on Thursday.

Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants who were behind a grenade attack on Wednesday were killed in a counter-militancy operation in north Kashmir’s Sopore on Thursday morning.

A police spokesman said Aijaz Ahmad Mir and Basharat Ahmad Sheikh, residents of Sopore, were hiding in the house of Khazir Mohammad Mir.

“The house was cordoned off by a joint party of the police, the Army and the CRPF at around 2:45 a.m. During a search operation, the militants opened fire. Both the militants were killed in retaliatory fire,” said the spokesman.

Two AK-47 rifles and five magazines were recovered from their possession.

The slain militants, according to the police, joined the Hizb in 2016. Police said they were the motivators of the militants who lobbed a grenade on a police station on Wednesday evening, injuring four policemen.

“Two militants involved in the grenade attack have been detained,” said the spokesman.

Two pistols and four grenades have been recovered from them.

Arms haul

Police said a vehicle carrying militants and overground workers was stopped in Bandipora district. Arms too were recovered from the vehicle.