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Updated: May 18, 2019 22:48 IST

Four militants were killed in two separate gunfights with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, a police spokesman said.

The spokesman said three Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militants were killed in a pre-dawn operation in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Another militant was killed in Sopore town of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, the spokesman added.

He said security forces launched a cordon and search operation based on a credible input in the early hours of Saturday at Panzgam in Pulwama’s Awantipora.

The three militants holed up there fired as the search operation was going on. The security forces retaliated, leading to an exchange of fire in which the three were killed.

“Three militants were killed in the encounter and they all were affiliated with Hizbul Mujahideen,” the spokesman said. The three were identified as Showkat Dar, Irfan War, and Muzaffar Sheikh.

“The three militants were wanted for their complicity in a series of terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities. Several terror crime cases were registered against them,” the spokesman said.

“Showkat Dar was part of a group of militants involved in killing of Army jawan Aurangzeb last year,” he said. Militants abducted and killed Rifleman Aurangzeb while he was on his way home to celebrate Eid from his camp in South Kashmir’s Shadimarg in June 2018.

The spokesman cited police records and said Dar had a long history of terror activities.

“He was involved in planning and executing a series of terror attacks in the area and many other civilian atrocities. He was also involved in the killing of a policeman Aqib Ahmad Wagay last year. Several terror crime cases were registered against him,” he said.

Irfan War and Muzafar Shiekh, the police said, were involved in several terror attacks on security establishments in the area. “Several criminal cases were registered against Sheikh for terrorist activities,” a police statement said.

Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were recovered from the gunfight site, the police spokesman said.

The police have registered a case and the material has been taken in the case records for the purpose of investigation, he added.

“It was a clean operation and no collateral damage took place during the exchange of fire,” the police spokesman said

In the second operation, at Hathlangoo village in north Kashmir’s Sopore area, the police said one militant was killed.

While the body of the slain militant has been retrieved from the site of the gun battle, the police said the identity and affiliation of the militant is yet to be ascertained. He said incriminating material, including ammunition, was recovered from the site of the encounter.

In another operation at Dehrna in Anantnag district, some unidentified militants managed to escape following an exchange of fire. The operation was later terminated.

Over the past three days, five militants, two soldiers and a civilian have been killed in two different operations in South Kashmir. Nine people, including three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants, two soldiers and two civilians, were killed on Thursday last.This was one of the worst single day causalities since the February 14 car bomb attack in Pulwama in which 40 paramilitary troopers were killed. The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed had claimed responsibility for the attack.

India responded to Pulwama attack with an air strike on a terror camp in Pakistan.

(With PTI inputs)