Encounter on in Kashmir's Anantnag district; woman killed

Srinagar : A woman was today killed after she was caught in an exchange of fire between security forces and militants during an operation in Anantnag district of Kashmir.

Tahira, 44, sustained injuries during the encounter and was rushed to the district hospital, but she could not be saved, officials said.

Security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Brenti-Batpora in Anantnag early today after they received information about the presence of militants, including a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander there, a police official said.

He said the search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire on security forces.
A police spokesman said the militants were using civilians as human shields and efforts are on to rescue them. The operation was still on.