Security forces flush out 4 militants in Jammu and Kashmir gunbattle

Army personnel walk towards the house where militants were hiding during an encounter, at Srigufwara in Anantnag district. Pic/PTI

Police on Friday killed four militants, including chief of the banned Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) Dawood Ahmed Sofi, in a remote mountain village in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, six days before the annual Amarnath Yatra begins, officials said.

A policeman and a civilian were also killed in the exchange of fire between militants and security forces at Khiram village of Srigufwara tehsil, police said. The operation began before dawn at Khiram, 23 km from the main national highway and overlooking the tourist town of Pahalgam, after intelligence reports about the presence of militants in the area, police said.

One of the militants killed was identified as Dawood Ahmed Sofi, who headed the ISIS affiliate ISJK and is believed to be involved in several cases of murder and stone pelting, he said. The other three, also believed to be with the ISJK, were identified as Aadil Rehman Bhat, Mohammad Ashraf Itoo and Majid Manzoor Dar, said Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) Swayam Prakash Pani, who was supervising the operations. "The operation was successful and teams from state police, Army and CRPF made every effort to prevent collateral damage," Pani said.