Militant escapes after brief encounter with SF in Shopian

Militants, who were holed up in a house, escaped after a brief exchange of fire with security forces during the Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in south Kashmir district of Shopian on Monday.

The search operation has been called off and internet service has also been restored, sources told UNI.

They said on a tip-off about presence of militants, a joint CASO was launched by Special Operations Group (SOG) of state police, Army and CRPF at Sangran in Shopian in the wee hours today.

However, when security forces were moving towards a particular area in the village, militant hiding there, fired at them with automatic weapons. 'The security forces retaliated, ensuing in an encounter,' they added. The mobile internet service was also suspended to prevent spread of rumours.

During the house to house searches, militants had managed to escape under the cover of darkness, they said, adding that the CASO was called off and security forces had withdrawn from the village.