7 in a day: Number of terrorists gunned down in valley in 2021 stands at 31

New Delhi, Apr 10: The chief of the Al-Qaeda affiliated terror outfit Ansar Gazwat ul Hind were among the 7 terrorists killed in two separate encounters in Kashmir on Friday.

Five terrorists were killed in an overnight encounter at a Mosque in Shopian, the police said. The AGH chief Imtiyaz Shah was killed in another encounter along with another terrorist in an orchard in Tral.

With these two encounters, the number of terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir in 2021 stands at 31 of which 28 were from the the South Kashmir region. Data shows that 138 terrorists have been arrested in 2021.

Out of the five killed in Shopian, two were from the Hizbul Mujahideen, two from the AGH and belonged to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. We had sent the terrorist's brother urging him to surrender after sending the Imam of the Mosque where they were hiding. In the morning, we sent his parents, but he still refused to surrender, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone), Vijay Kumar told reporters.

After his refusal to surrender, the forces resorted to tear smoke shelling inside the Mosque and fired through the window trying not to damage the Mosque. Three civilians and at least four security personnel were injured, Kumar said.