Three Hizb militants killed in Pulwama gunfight

During searches, an encounter broke out between militants and security forces

Three Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a self-styled commander of the outfit, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, officials said.

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Officials said security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Sherabad area of Tral late Tuesday night following information about the presence of militants there . During searches, an encounter broke out between militants and security forces, officials said.

“Three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were killed in an operation in the Tral area,” director general of police Dilbagh Singh told reporters here.

The DGP said the slain militants have been identified as Jehangir Ahmad Wani, Raja Maqbool and Sadat. Wani and Maqbool were residents of Tral while Sadat was from Bijbehara in Anantnag district. He said arms and ammunition was recovered from the encounter site which included two AK rifles, a pistol and two grenades.

He said Wani was a dangerous militant who had taken over the command of the outfit after killing of Hamad Khan last month.

“Besides the killings, they have been involved in burning a chemist shop, a truck, pasting threatening posters, setting a mosque in Amirabad Tral on fire. They also were involved in attacks on police and army jawans,” the DGP said.

“The third militant Sadat was also a part of the terror outfit and was involved in many incidents,” he said.

Twenty-three terrorists have been eliminated in various encounters since last month, the DGP said. He said while 19 militants have been killed in eight operations in Kashmir, four were killed in two operations in the Jammu region since January this year. “So far, we have had 10 successful operations in Jammu and Kashmir in 2020 in which 23 terrorists have been eliminated,” the DGP said.