Srinagar, May 20: Two troopers of the Border Security Force (BSF) were killed in an attack by militants on the outskirts of Srinagar on Wednesday. The deceased were fatally injured when the group of armed insurgents fired upon a patrolling party in Pandach area of Srinagar -- the capital of erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir. Two Hizbul Mujahideen Members Gunned Down by Security Forces in Srinagar on Tuesday.

After they sustained injuries, the troopers were rushed to the nearest medical facilities. They, however, succumbed to death. A search operation has been launched to trace the militants who were involved in the attack on the patrolling party.

Update by ANI

The attack comes a day after the forces barged into the congested Old City area of Srinagar and gunned down two militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen. The slain insurgents were identified as Tariq Ahmed Sheikh and Junaid Khan, both from South Kashmir. The latter was the son of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) chairman Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai.

The armed forces, over the past month, has launched an operation to eliminate the Hizbul leadership from the Valley. The insurgents suffered a severe blow after Riyaz Naikoo, the seniormost commander of Hizbul, was gunned down in an encounter in Awantipora on May 7.

Hizbul, which has links to Pakistan, draws most of the homegrown radicalised youth into militancy, claim experts. The two other militant groups - Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad - are more responsible for the infiltration of militants from across the border to fuel insurgency in the Valley.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2020 06:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).