Kupwara gun-battle: All 5 militants killed were foreigners, says police
Srinagar: All the five suspected Lashker-e-Toiba militants killed in the 48-hour long Kupwara encounter in north Kashmir were foreigners, the police said today even as the security forces launched a search operation in a dense forest area to locate a missing Army man.
Apart from the five militants, the fierce gun-battle which ended yesterday also claimed the lives of three Army men and two policemen.
An Army official said a search operation was on as the security forces were looking for an Army man reported missing since yesterday.
According to police, the encounter broke out in the Halmatpora area, at least 8 kms from the Line of Control (LoC), after a police party intercepted a group of militants.
A joint team of the Kupwara police along with companies of the Army, the Territorial Army (TA) and the CRPF were engaged in the operation which began Tuesday morning.
KV Correspondent
