20-hour gunbattle ends in Srinagar, two terrorists killed

SRINAGAR: A 20-hour-long gunbattle between two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists and security forces in the outskirts of Srinagar ended on Monday with the killing of both the ultras and injury to two policemen.

"The encounter at Ahmadnagar locality of Buchpora ended with the killing of both the terrorists holed up in a house," a police officer said.

He said bodies of both the terrorists were recovered along with a cache of arms and ammunition from the encounter spot.

A police spokesman identified the slain terrorists as Abu Huzaifa and Chota Hafiz.

The gunbattle started last evening when police, assisted by security forces, launched a search operation following specific information about presence of militants in the house in the locality.

A policeman was injured in the initial exchange of fire but the operation to neutralize the militants was suspended to ensure safety of civilians, including a couple in whose house the militants had got into, the officer said.

After a night-long lull, the encounter resumed this morning after the ultras let go the house owner Abdul Majid Rangrez and his wife, he said.