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Updated: Dec 29, 2018 20:27 IST

Four militants, including a Pakistani, affiliated with Jaish e Mohammad militant outfit were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday morning.

In the post encounter clashes, 16 civilians were injured when forces tried to disperse protestors close to the encounter site and an adjoining village.

A police spokesman said that based on a credible input about the presence of militants in Hanjan Payeen village, a cordon and search operation was launched jointly by police and security forces.

“As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the militants which led to a gunfight. In the ensuing encounter, four militants were neutralized and the bodies were recovered from the site,” the police spokesman said.

Officials, however, said three of the four militants are locals from Pulwama and another a foreign militant.

Police identified the three local militants as Muzamil Ahmad Dar of Rahmoo, Waseem Akram Wani of Tiken Batapora and Muzamil Nazir Bhat of Prichoo Pulwama.

“From the incriminating materials recovered at the site of encounter, one militant is learnt to be a foreigner.”

A senior doctor posted in Pulwama district hospital said that 16 injured, most of them with pellet injuries, were brought to Pulwama and Rajpora hospitals. “One of the injured was shifted to Srinagar for an advanced treatment,” he said.

This is the second encounter in Pulwama district since last 24 hours as a local Lashkar militant was killed at Bandepora village on Friday morning after a brief gunfight. So far 22 militants have been killed in Kashmir this month.

Last Saturday six militants, including a senior militant of a Valley-based outfit affiliated to the Al-Qaeda, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the same district.

They militants were part of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, led by wanted militant Zakir Musa, and had carried out several attacks on security establishments and civilians. Police identified the militants as Soliha Akhoon, Faisal, Nadeem Sofi, Rasiq Mir, Rouf and Umar, all residents of Tral in south Kashmir. Soliha was acting as the deputy chief of the outfit and a close aide of Zakir Musa. Soliha and Zakir Musa were associates of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani and after Musa parted ways with Hizb, Soliha was first to join him.

This year forces have so far killed over 240 militants, including 12 top commanders of various militant groups, in different parts of the Valley. This is the highest number of militants killed in a year since 2010. Most of the militants were killed during encounters in south Kashmir’s four districts – Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag and Kulgam. This month forces have also destroyed four underground militant hideouts all in south Kashmir. The officials claim that militants are now preferring to stay in underground hideouts as they believe their movements are tracked by forces.