Jammu & Kashmir, May 15 -- With the killing of six local militants in south Kashmir in the last three days, the number of listed local militants in the Valley has dropped to a single digit - the lowest ever recorded since the insurgency began in the 1990s, officials said.

However, the number of foreign militants operating in the region remains around 40, they added.

On Tuesday, three local militants affiliated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) - Shahid Kuttay and Adnan Shafi Dar from Shopian along with Ehsan-ul-Haq Sheikh from Pulwama - were killed in an encounter in the upper reaches of the Keller area. According to officials, Shahid Kuttay was functioning as the operational commander of LeT in south Kashmir.

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