The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday claimed to have killed two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants in an encounter with security forces in Shopian district.

The gunfight took place during a cordon-and-search operation in the Reban area of South Kashmir after the security personnel received intelligence inputs about the presence of militants there, an unidentified police official told PTI. The operation turned into an encounter after the militants fired at a search party of the security forces, the official added.

Police said in a tweet that the suspected militants killed in the operation were involved in “terror crimes and civilian atrocities”. The security forces recovered weapons and ammunition from the site, they added.

The two militants were identified as Shabir Ahmad Malik alias Abu Maviya, a resident of Tungduno Yaripora Kulgam, and Amir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Wadina Melhoura.

Earlier in February, the Jammu and Kashmir police had claimed to have killed two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag district. Before that, three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in an encounter in Pulwama district. The militants – Jangeer Rafiq Wani, Raja Umar Maqbool Bhat and Uzair Amin Bhat – were allegedly involved in a series of terror acts, including the killing of two civilians in Tral, between November 2019 and February 2020.