J&K: Three terrorists gunned down in encounter at Shopian's Turkwangam

A counter-terrorism operation, launched on the tip-off of the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Police, once again turned out to be successful as three terrorists were gunned down after a search-and-cordon operation in the orchards of the Turkwangam village in south Kashmir's Shopian district earlier today.

A top police official said, “Three terrorists have been killed so far in the encounter. One more militant could be hiding in the area. The operation is still in progress."

The official added that on Monday midnight, a cordon-and-search operation was launched in Turkwangam by a joint team of the J&K Police, the Indian Army's 44 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). When the suspected area was cordoned off, the terrorists who were in hiding were asked to surrender, said the police official, adding that the terrorists, however, fired upon the search party thus triggering an encounter.

Three terrorists have been killed and their bodies retrieved. Currently, the identities of the slain terrorists are being ascertained.

An army statement on this day read, "Op Turkawangam (Shopian). Three terrorists eliminated. Two AK-47 and one INSAS recovered till now. Joint Operation in progress."

Pertinently 23 terrorists, including the three terrorists gunned down in today's ongoing encounter, have so far been killed in the Shopian district this month. The death toll of terrorists in the region is now 98.