BHADERWAH: Two militants, who had deserted as Special Police Officers (SPOs) a month back to re-join militancy, were today killed in an encounter with army and police in Doda district.
Doda saw an encounter after about four years as it has remained almost free from militancy all these years.
Those killed in the encounter have been identified as Ghulam Nabi Mangnoo alias Maulvi code name Gulla Tailor and Raiz Ahmed, police said.
The duo deserted the police on the night of September 7-8 and ran away with an AK rifle, an INSAS rifle with 60 and 70 rounds, police said, adding they had rejoined militancy.
While Maulvi had surrendered as the District Commander of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) in 2010 and joined as an SPO, Raiz had surrendered as the Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) terrorist in 2010.
Acting on a specific information about the presence of SPO-turned-militants in Gadi forest area, Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operation Group (SoG) Doda launched a joint operation last night, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Doda, Zahid Naseem Manhas told reporters.
“At 4 AM, both the militants were tracked down in Gadi Nullah. As the search operation was going on, the militants, who were hiding in the area, tried to break the cordon and opened firing on the forces, Manhas said.
An encounter followed and the duo were killed, he said. (AGENCIES)
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