Srinagar: Security forces on Thursday neutralised two top terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen in Awantipora area of Kashmir.

Based on credible intelligence inputs, Jammu and Kashmir Police along with the Indian Army launched a massive cordon and search operation in the area. The terrorist opened fire on the security forces, triggering an encounter in the area.  The gunfire which began at 3:30 am ended with the killing of two Hizbul terrorists within an hour.

The two terrorists killed in the encounter have been identified as Adil Lone and Adnan Bhat. Security forces have recovered a huge cache of arms from the two.

Killed terrorist Adnan joined the terror outfit in 2015 whereas Adil joined Hizbul in 2017. The security forces are seeing this encounter a big success, as both of them were close associates of Hizbul commander Riyaz Naikoo.  Adnan was managing the financial aspects of the terror outfit.

This is the second killing after the terrorists challenged the security forces by posting selfies from Lal Chowk of Srinagar. The first terrorist, Abu Hanzala, was gunned down on 25th of this month.
 
In the last seven days, the security forces have gunned down 20 terrorists in seven separate encounters. In 2018, more than 230 terrorists have been neutralised so far.