Soldier, 2 civilians injured in encounter at Shopian in J&K

Srinagar, May 10 (IANS) One soldier and two civilians were injured in an ongoing encounter between terrorists and security forces at Pandoshan area in South Kashmir's Shopian district, officials said on Tuesday.

"Both the injured civilians have been airlifted to Srinagar hospital for advanced treatment," police said. "One Soldier has also got injured. He has been shifted to hospital for treatment."

Police said during initial cordon and search operation, terrorists fired upon civilians and tried to escape, in which two civilians got injured. Both the injured were shifted to hospital. One of them was said to be critical.

The firefight between terrorists and security forces took place on Monday after a joint team of the police and the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation on the basis of specific information about presence of terrorists.

As the security forces zeroed in on the spot where terrorists were hiding they came under a heavy volume of fire that triggered the encounter.