Srinagar, February 27: A day after the Indian Air Force carried out a pre-dawn strike at the largest Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on Tuesday, an encounter between the security forces and militants began on the intervening night of Wednesday in Shopian district of South Kashmir. As per the initial reports, the security forces have cordoned the Meemendar village of the district and neutralised two of the three Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists hidden in the area.

Reports say that the encounter between the security forces and the terrorists began at around 2:30 am on Wednesday. The gunbattle between the two parties started after the Indian Armed Forces got the information that terrorists are hiding in the area and launched the search operation. A joint team of the Indian Army, J&K police and CRPF surrounded the building in the area where three suspected terrorists were expected to be hidden. Since the area has been cordoned and the search operation is underway, more reports are likely to follow. PM Modi 'Did Not Sleep Last Night', Monitored IAF Strikes on JeM Camp Realtime: Report. 

Earlier, the Indian Army destroyed five Pakistani posts after they tried to unprovoked cross border heavy shelling and firing of missiles late Tuesday night. Defence Ministry Spokesperson Lt Colonel Devender Anand said due to the firing, several casualties on the Pakistani side. However, there is no confirmation of any casualty being accepted by the Pakistani side as of yet.

Adding more, Lt Colonel Devender Anand said, “Pakistan initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling with heavy calibre weapons at 12 to 15 places along the Line of Control from 6.30 pm onwards. Pakistani troops were also seen firing mortars and missiles from civilian houses using villagers as human shields.” Surgical Strike 2: Indian Air Force Strikes JeM Camps in Pakistan Days After Pulwama Attack, Pak Officials Cry Intrusion.

He said, “The Indian army retaliated and our focused firing resulted in severe destruction of five Pakistani posts and a number of casualties to Pakistan Army.” The senior Indian Army Officer even stated that five Indian soldiers sustained minor injuries and two were evacuated to military hospital for medical treatment. Their condition was stable, he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 27, 2019 08:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).