Militants Sunday managed to escape after exchanging fire with the government forces in Kahilil forest area of Tral township in Awantipora police district.
A source said that during the Sunday wee hours, a joint teamof army’s 42 Rashtriya Rifles and police launched a cordon-and-search operationin Kahilil following “credible” input about the presence of militantsin the area.
“At around 7 am, as the joint team of the forces reached thesuspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon the forces, triggering a briefexchange of fire,” he said.
He said there was a sudden pause in the firing and theforces tightened the cordon and launched searches in the dense woods but foundnothing.
A police official said that militants apparently had managedto escape.
“The forces throughout the day continued the operation inthe forest area suspecting that the militants might have taken shelter there.But by evening the operation was called off,” he said.
Authorities also snapped Internet service in Awantiporapolice district as a “precautionary measure”. The service was laterrestored in the afternoon.