Militants and security forces exchanged fire in a forest in this south Kashmir district on Tuesday afternoon.
While there were no reports of any casualty, the searches inthe area were going on.
A police official told Greater Kashmir that at around 2 pm,a joint team of Army, SOG and CRPF personnel threw a cordon around the Yarwan(Seer Khal) forest, about 15km from Shopian, following inputs about thepresence of militants in the area. “Asthe forces were conducting searches, some militants hiding in the area openedfire on them,” the official said, adding that the fire was immediatelyreturned, leading to a brief shootout.
He said there were no immediate reports of any causalityfrom the either side.
The official, however, said that more reinforcements wererushed to the area and the cordon was tightened.
The search operation in the area was in progress at the timeof filing this report.
Meanwhile, another police officer said that some young menin Barthipora and Kral Check villages of the district hit the streets and threwstones on the police vehicles that were on their way to the gun battle site.
The forces responded by firing tear smoke shells andpellets, he said.