Militants give slip to army in Kulgam gun battle site

Srinagar, Jan 23 (PTI) Lashker-e-Taiba terrorists, caught
in a gun battle with security forces in a village in Kulgam
district of India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir,
managed to escape in wee hours of the day despite a cordon
being thrown by the Army.
Highly-placed sources said the terrorists gave a slip to
troops at around 0600 hours IST from the house at Qoimoh in
Kulgam even as the army personnel, assisted by police, were
preparing to launch an offensive against them.
A gun battle had broken out Friday night between LeT
terrorists holed up in a house and security forces in Kulgam.
The help of some local people in the area to the
terrorists was cited as the reason for their success to flee
the area, the sources said, adding some of the persons had
been rounded up.
The security forces had surrounded the house acting on a
tip-off about the presence of militants, sparking an
intermittent exchange of fire between the two sides.
Security forces had suspended the flush-out operation in
the congested locality late Friday night in order to avoid
civilian casualties. PTI