The J-K police on Sunday claimed to have killed a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) militant in a gunbattle in south Kashmir’s Shopian district during a search operation.
A police officer said the personnel of Shopian police and the army’s 44 Unit surrounded village Tharna in Keller area, Shopian, 70 km south of Srinagar, early in the morning. The search party cordoned off a particular area in the village to nab hiding militants.
“A siege was laid around the area in village Tharna following specific information about the presence of armed militants,” said a police spokesman.
The hiding militants spotted the security forces and fired at them. “In the ensuing encounter, a militant was killed,” said the spokesman adding “a search operation is still going on at the encounter site”.
The police have identified the militant as Zahid alias Abu Zaid, son of Abdul Rashid, a resident of Mangotra, Doda district. “Zahid is affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit,” said the police spokesman.
Arms and ammunition were also recovered from the possession of the slain militant.
A few days Zaid fled from an encounter in Keller area while his associate was killed.