One terrorist was killed in a gunfight that broke out between security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on Tuesday, just two days after two militants and eight CRPF personnel were killed in an encounter in Pampore. The encounter has now ended.
A Hizbul commander was reportedly hiding inside a house, India Today reported.
The incident came on the heels of the army and the police launching a joint search operation in Nagree Drugmulla. They had received inputs about terrorists hiding in the area.
"As the joint party zeroed in on a suspected house, militants opened fire which was responded triggering a gunfight which is still underway," police sources were quoted as saying by the Tribune.
The security forces had cordoned off the area to prevent the suspected terrorists from escaping.
The Northern Command, Indian Army also confirmed the death of one terrorist through a tweet on Tuesday.
On June 25, an encounter had killed two terrorists in Baramulla, Kashmir, the same day as the Pampore attack.
With the increase in terror attacks in the state there has also been an increase in deaths of terrorists, an intelligence report was quoted as saying by Mail Today. There has been a 100 percent increase in deaths of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the report says. Between January and June 27, at least 73 terrorists were killed, as opposed to 34 in 2015.
Security forces also believe that the increase in deaths of terrorists have made them desperate fuelling further attacks. The Intelligence Bureau report's assessment said that the deaths would deter local youth from joining terror outfits operating in the state.
The IB report said that there has been a decline in the number of local youth joining terror outfits.
"There are various reasons. Families play an important role. The killings have had an impact and worked as a deterrent," an official was quoted as saying by Mail Today.
