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Security forces on Sunday night laid siege to a mosque in Shangus in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir where four militants took refuge following an encounter in which a Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed.
Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operations Group (SOG) raided Shangus on Sunday evening and mounted searches acting on specific information, sources said.
During the searches, they came under heavy fire resulting in the on-the-spot death of a SPO, they added.
The sources said the militants who were initially holed up in a house later took refuge in the mosque and engaged the troops in a gun battle.
Top police officers were tight lipped about the incident only revealing, "We are collecting information about the incident and details will be available on Monday morning."
On Friday, a hand grenade was lobbed at the tomb of Shiekh Nur Din, the patron saint of Kashmir, at Charar-e-Sharief resulting in the death of six women and injuries to 50 others.
Local residents are blaming the police for the explosion.
On May 30, RR troops laid a siege around a mosque at Shopian in southern Pulwama district where two militants had taken refuge.
However, the two militants had been given safe passage by the authorities 'to prevent any damage to the religious place and uphold its sanctity'.
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