SRI NAGAR: A top Hizbul Mujahideen militant, who was the last active member of Burhan Wani’s group of 11, was among three militants killed in an encounter with security forces in the restive Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. Acting on specific information that a group of militants, including top Hizbul commander Latief Tiger, were hiding in a house at Adkhara village of Imam Sahab area, a joint team of police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and army personnel launched a search operation in the village in the wee hours of Friday, a police officer said.
He added that as the security personnel zeroed-in on the house, the militants unleashed heavy fire on the security team from the house. “In the ensuing gunfight, which continued for nearly four hours, three Hizbul militants were killed and an army man was injured.”The residential house, where militants were holed-up, was completely wrecked and two other houses too suffered partial damage during the gunfire.
The deceased militants were identified as Latief Ahmad Dar alias Latief Tiger, Tariq Moulvi alias Mufti Waqas and Shariq Ahmad Negroo, all locals.Latief was the last active militant of Burhan Wani’ group of 11, the picture of which had gone viral on social media platforms in June 2015. The only surviving member of the group Tariq Pandit is presently in police custody.Burhan, who had become the Kashmir militancy’s poster boy, was killed in an encounter with security forces on July 8, 2016.