Security forces killed two terrorists of a group backed by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in an encounter in Kulgam district of J&K, the police said here today. Officers said the encounter started this morning at Okey village of Kulgam district of the Union territory (UT) when teams of the police, the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were carrying a cordon-and-search operation in the area following an input regarding presence of two militants there.

“The terrorists hiding in the area opened fire on the security forces, triggering a gunfight. In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists were killed,” a police official said, adding the search operation was underway.

Quoting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir zone, Vijay Kumar, the police tweeted that the slain terrorists were locals and had been involved in several terror crimes. The gunfight in Kulgam took place a day after a top local Lashkar-e-Toiba commander and his accomplice were killed in two separate gunfights on the outskirts of Srinagar.

Meanwhile, policemen soon get American Sig Sauer assault rifles and pistols to carry out anti-terror operations, officials said. The Army has already equipped its personnel guarding the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan and Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China with the state-of-the-art rifles. The J&K Police is probably the first in the country to get the modern weapons, officials said, adding that the force will be procuring 500 Sig Sauer-716 rifles and 100 Sig Sauer MPX 9mm pistols.

The special operation group (SoG) and personnel deployed for the security of protected people will be equipped with the weapons. In 2019, India had signed a contract with Sig Sauer for 72,400 assault rifles at a cost of around Rs 700 crore. In October, 2017, the Army began the process to acquire around 7 lakh rifles, 44,000 light machine guns and nearly 44,600 carbines.

Cops to be given US-made weapons

• The J&K Police will procure 500 Sig Sauer-716 rifles and 100 Sig Sauer MPX 9mm pistols for anti-terror operations.
• The special operation group and the policemen deployed for the security of protected people will be equipped with the US-made weapons.

(With PTI inputs)

Courtesy: The Tribune India: 4th Jan , 2022