Gunfight breaks out at main town Shopian

Srinagar: A gunfight between militants and security forces raged at main town Shopian in south Kashmir Thursday afternoon, police said.

“Encounter has started at Shopian town. Police and security forces are on the job,” a police spokesperson tweeted.

A police official told TNN that the firefight started shortly after columns of army, Police and CRPF troops launched a search operation in Jan Mohalla following inputs about the presence of militants in the area.

During the search operation, the militants hiding in the area opened fire on the forces, who returned the fire triggering off an encounter, he said.

The exchange of bullets was going on at time of filing this report.