Srinagar: J&K’s director general of police, Shesh Paul Ved, confirmed that Sabzar Ahmed Bhat, a top commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, was killed on Saturday along with an accomplice.
The other slain terrorist has been identified as Faizan Muzaffar, a teenager who had joined the Hizb ranks recently. A third militant said to be the Hizb’s Aadil Ahmed was also reportedly with Bhat when the encounter started, but his fate is not known.
A statement issued by the J&K police here said that on Friday evening a patrol party of the Army’s 42 Rashtriya Rifles came under terrorist fire at Hurdimir, outside Soimoh village of Tral. “Fire was returned and the terrorists took shelter in nearby houses,” it said, adding that subsequently a cordon-and-search operation was launched jointly by the J&K police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG), 42 Rashtriya Rifles and 180 Battalion of the CRPF.
“The terrorists hiding in the houses again opened fire on the joint team, triggering an encounter,” the statement said.
Media persons were denied access to the encounter site in Tral, reports said. “We were not allowed to go close to the encounter site by the security forces. Tral is very tense and people are out on the streets chanting slogans in praise of Sabzar and for freedom,” said Zubair Ahmed Dar, a reporter, over the phone from Tral.
