In a major victory for security forces, three terroristswere killed, in two separate incidents, within a span of 24 hours in Jammu andKashmir.In an encounter in Baramulla district on Saturday, a terrorist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Warpora area of Sopore. Two more terrorists are believed to be trapped in the area. A joint operation was launched by the 22 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Operations Group (SOG) Sopore after the area was cordoned off. A soldier was also injured in the encounter.

In the second encounter, another terrorist was killed onSaturday morning taking the death toll to two in Shopian district of the state.The encounter that has been going on since Friday in Pandushan village of thedistrict. An Army jawan was martyred during the encounter. The operation hasbeen called off.On a specific police input, an operation was launched in the village. The first terrorist who was killed has been identified as Zeenat ul Islam Naikoo and his body has been recovered. The body was handed over to his family on Friday night.

Zeenat Naikoo was the most important local terrorist ofJaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) in Shopian. He played the role of local anchor to theJaish foreign terrorists and was involved in various incidents of violenceincluding killing of cops, firing and grenade lobbing. Four policemen losttheir lives in an attack by Zeenat and his associates.

This comes days after two JeM terrorists were shot down in agunfight with security forces at the Bonbazar area of Shopian. A joint team ofIndian Army's 23 Para and special operations group (SOG) Shopian had launched acordon and search operation in the area. As the forces approached the location,terrorists opened fire on them, triggering an encounter.

On Thursday, another encounter took place between terroristsand security forces in Baderhama Zawoora area of Shopian district.