Three militants, soldier killed in Kashmir Valley

Srinagar : Three militants, a soldier and a civilian were killed on Thursday in three separate incidents in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

A local commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit, Asif Malik alias Abu Ukasha, and a soldier were killed in a gunfight in Gasigund village in Dooru area of Anantnag district.

“Irfan Ahmad Dar was working as SPO and had deserted a couple of months ago,” he said.

The spokesman said that the militants fired on a search party from a nearby mosque and subsequently the area was taken into cordon.

“The local Auqaf Committee was engaged to convince the militants to come out. Security forces also appealed the militants to come out. However, the militants turned down the offer and consequently the operation had to be carried out in a deliberate manner keeping intact the sanctity of the mosque,” said the spokesman.