Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police and Army on Wednesday neutralised four terrorists, including two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commanders, in brief shootouts Sopat area of South Kashmir's Kulgam district and Dragad area in Shopian districts.
While two ultras were killed in the encounter at Dragad in Shopian, two others were eliminated in a gunbattle in Kulgam district, a police official said, adding so far 15 terrorists have been killed in two weeks.
According to Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar, the LeT commander was identified as Gulzar Ahmd Reshi of Kulgam district. The four terrorists who were killed today were also involved in the killings of two poor labourers from Bihar on October 17 in the Wanpoh area.
"Police and Army #neutralised LeT district commander (Gulzar Ahmad Reshi) of Kulgam and one other, who were involved in #killings of two poor labourers from Bihar on 17/10/21 at Wanpoh," IGP Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar said in a tweet.
Police said that based on specific information, a joint team of Police and Army launched a cordon and search operation in Sopat.
"The area was cordoned off and contact established at about 07.40 PM. Repeated surrender appeals were turned down by terrorists," a defence spokesperson told news agency PTI.
He said the ultras opened fire, forcing the security forces to retaliate.
This comes after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Dragad area of Shopian district following information about the presence of militants earlier in the day.
They said the search operation turned into an encounter after militants opened fire on the security forces who retaliated.
The officials said two ultras of The Resistance Front (TRF), a shadow outfit of Lashkar-e-Toiba, were killed.
Three security force personnel also sustained injuries in the operation. One of the injured soldiers later succumbed to injuries at a hospital here, told the news agency.