Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Thursday said there were only a handful of militants left in Jammu province who were making desperate attempts to show their existence.
The Chief Minister was reacting to killing of an army jawan in a militant attack in Kishtwar district of Jammu province.
"Handful of militants left in Jammu province making desperate attempts to show their existence," Omar wrote on microblogging site twitter.Com.
"My condolences to the family of the army Jawan killed while on patrol in Kishtwar," Omar added.
State police chief Kuldeep Khuda last year said there were only 250 militants active in Jammu and Kashmir.
A jawan of Territorial Army identified as Noor Hussain was killed in the encounter with militants last night.
Troops of 17 Rashtriya Rifles and police had launched a joint cordon and search operation in Palmar area of Kishtwar district last night after receiving a tip-off about the presence of militants in the area, police said today.
During the operation, militants fired on the operation party, which fired back resulting in the encounter, which continued till late last night, they said.
PTI
