Bandipora, September 20: A terrorist has been killed in an ongoing encounter with the security forces in the forest area of Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday. However, the identity of the deceased terrorists has not yet been ascertained. According to reports, security personnel launched a cordon and search operation in the forests of Sumlar area in the district following information about the presence of terrorists in the area. The encounter began after the terrorists opened fire at the search party.

Earlier this week, the army gunned down five terrorists belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) in an encounter in Kulgam district. The deceased terrorists were identified as Gulzar Ahmad Padder, Faisal Ahmad Rather, Zahid Ahmad Mir, Masroor Molvi and Zahoor Ahmad Lone. On September 13, two terrorists were gunned down by security forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Sopore. The encounter broke out early on Thursday after the forces had received information about militants hiding in the area.

Till now around 170 terrorists have been gunned down by the forces in the military operations in the Kashmir Valley, while close to 70 security personnel lost their lives. Last year, over 200 terrorists were killed in the valley.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 20, 2018 09:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).