Brigadier General of Staff 16 Corps Gurdip Singh said three militants who had hidden inside the mosque in Kishtwar, about 210 km north east of Jammu, were killed in a gunbattle. However, he said security forces have not called off the operation as they suspect a fourth militant was hiding there.
‘All are LeT militants,’ said Singh, adding that one of the killed was an area commander, identified as Yusuf Gujjar.
Earlier, the security forces laid a cordon around the mosque as the militants hid inside after a gunfight with the forces.
The militants had fled to the mosque after being chased by security forces in the remote mountainous area of Keshwan in Kishtwar district.