4 militants, soldier and a cop killed in Tral gunfight

Tral: Four militants, a soldier and a policeman were killed in a fierce gun battle in Laam Forest area of South Kashmir’s Tral Township in Pulwama district.
The gunfight erupted during wee hours on Tuesday after Forces cordoned of Laam Forest area. In the initial exchange of fire, a soldier Ajay Kumar of 42 Rashtriya Rifles and a cop Latif Gojjri were killed.
Police sources said that all the four militants who had earlier fled after exchanging fire with the forces were trapped and later on killed. IGP Kashmir SP Pani said that it looks like the militants belong to Jaish-e-Muhammad.
During the gunfight that lasted for many hours, all four militants were killed. “Two among the slain are foreigners while two according to sources are locals, said the official adding that two other soldiers injured in the gunfight have been hospitalized.
Government Forces pressed choppers into service to track down the militants. “The militants managed to engage Forces due to dense forest cover,” the official said.
An official said that the identity of the militants have not been ascertained yet, however, reliable sources identified the two local militants as Ishfaq Ahmed of Handura Tral and Abid Ahmed of Khangund Tral.
Meanwhile Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has paid tributes to the two jawans of Army and Police who were killed during an operation at Tral Tuesday.
The Chief Minister has extended her heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families of the slain jawans. She has also conveyed her sympathies to the personnel who were injured in the incident.