The operations chief of Indian-administered Kashmir’s largest rebel group, the Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed in a gun battle in Srinagar, police chief K Rajindra said on Monday.
Elsewhere 15 people including 10 militants, four civilians and a soldier were killed in gun battles and an explosion across the state since Sunday evening. It said 12 people had also been wounded in rebel attacks during the same period. Hizbul Mujahideen commander Saiful Rahman was killed by security forces in a gun battle Sunday evening in Srinagar’s Palpora district, said Mr Rajindra. A police statement said Mr Rahman was a Pakistani from Rahim Yar Khan and served as Hizb’s chief operations commander and chief military adviser.
| Comes as a surprise, huh? |
It said police, after killing Mr Rahman, searched his hideout and found an automatic rifle and 73 rounds along with one hand grenade and a wireless set.
| Only one hand grenade? He was travelling light... |
Indian troops killed three militants in a gun battle near a bridge at the town of Akhnoor, about 25 kilometres west of Jammu. The militants allegedly used explosives to derail a train on Sunday night. Police said the attackers then fled in a vehicle but were stopped at a security force checkpoint on the bridge. When ordered to halt they tried to speed away, but troops shot out the tyres of the vehicle and they were forced to flee on foot, killing an Indian soldier on the way. The militants forced their way into a nearby army auditorium, police said. The army cordoned off the building and soldiers exchanged fire with the militants holed up inside for nearly eight hours, ending with the killing of the three guerrillas. A second soldier was killed in the gunbattle, a police official said.
In another incident, Indian troops assisted by police on Monday shot dead a suspected rebel in the Qamarwari area of Srinagar. In another attack, masked suspected militants forced their way into government official Assadullah Dar’s house and shot him dead late Sunday in the Kreeri area of northern Baramulla district, police said. |