Two militants killed in Kashmir gunbattle

Srinagar, Oct 20 (UNI) Two militants were killed in a more than nine-hour-long gunbattle with security forces near the Shalimar Mughal Gardens on the city outskirts today, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) spokesman said.

He said the bodies of the two militants were recovered from the debris of a house.

Two AK rifles and some ammunition were also seized from the encounter site, the spokesman said, adding that the security forces suffered no casualty in the gunfight.

The search operation has been called off, he said.

Sources said two houses were also damaged in the gunbattle.

Giving details, they said the encounter erupted between militants and security forces at Channa Mohalla near the Shalimar Mughal Gardens and the Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) on the city outskirts early today.

The sources said militants had taken refuge in a house and fired upon the security forces from there.

They said the house was brought down, but the ultras jumped to another nearby house and took shelter there.

The sources said the militants later started firing on the security forces from that house till that was also brought down.

A spokesman of the Al Badr Mujahideen called up the local media here and claimed that five militants of the outfit were initially involved in the gunfight.

''Three militants later escaped the cordon to reach a safe destination while two decided to stay out and fight the Indian security forces,'' he claimed.

UNI AG SK HT1825