Three unidentified militants were killed in a prolonged gunbattle in Hajin pocket of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Thursday. The bodies of militants hiding in a residential house were retrieved late in the evening after the house was razed to ground with mortar shelling.
Spokesman of Srinagar based XV Corps lt Col NN Joshi said that three unidentified militants were killed in the operation launched in Khosa Mohalla of Hajin Sonawari area in the district. The area was once known for counter-insurgency militia Ikhwan whose chief Kuka Parray hailed from Hajin village. Parray, who also became legislator in 1996 elections, was killed by militants in 2003.
Joshi said the bodies of slain militants, believed to be foreign nationals, have been retrieved from the encounter site. Reports said the residential house in which the militants were hiding was razed to rubble during the exchange of fire.
The bodies were retrieved late in the evening. Three rifles and a UBGl were recovered from the encounter site.