Army jawan, four militants killed in Handwara encounter

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, September 3

Four suspected militants and an Army jawan were killed in an overnight gunfight in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.  

The encounter broke out last evening in Sochalwari Vilgam at Handwara, nearly 85 kms from here, when joint teams of police and the Army launched search operation in the area after a tip off about the presence of militants.

“In the overnight firefight, four militants and an Army jawan of 9 Para were killed,” police sources said. 

The police said the identity and group affiliation of the slain militants was being ascertained.

Deputy Inspector General, north Kashmir, Gareeb Das said that two bodies of militants have been recovered so far and the firefight has stopped.

“Searches are being carried out to recover other bodies,” Das said  

This was the second encounter in less than 24 hours in north Kashmir. On Wednesday, an Army jawan and a militant were killed in a gunbattle in Baramulla district.