Militant holed up in house; encounter on with security forces

Srinagar, Jan 14: An encounter broke out between security forces and a militant holed up in a house in Sopore area of north Kashmir Baramulla district, police said.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Chanakhan area of Sopore, 52 kms from here, in the wee hours following information about presence of a foreign militant there, a police official said.

Acting on a tip-off, the security personnel encircled the Sofi Hamam Chankhan area in Sopore and were trying to flush out the militants hiding there.

"A gunfight is going on and at least one militant is present inside the cordoned off area," the official said. So far, there were no reports of any casualty in the gunbattle going on between the two sides, he added.

The militant group is believed to be headed by a Lashkar-e-Tayiba self-styled commander, Abu Huzaifa. Then troops have cordoned off the locality are searching some houses for the hidden militants.

PTI