SRINAGAR: Five Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a commander, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Sunday.
Acting on a specific input, a joint cordon and search operation was launched by J&K Police, 1 Rashtriya Rifles and 178 Battalion CRPF in Reban area in the early hours today to track down a group of militants. While security men were conducting searches, they came under heavy fire from militants hiding in the area.
Militants and security forces exchanged gunfire till late afternoon, the police said, adding five Hizbul militants were killed. One of the deceased militants, Hizbul commander Farooq Asad Nalli was wanted for attack on security forces. Farooq, according to the police, was active since 2015.
A police spokesman said identity of the remaining militants was being ascertained. “If any family claims the deceased to be their kin, they can come forward for identification of bodies,” he said.
The bodies of militants are now not being handed over to their families and instead being buried by the police in graveyards in north Kashmir’s Baramulla and central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district to avoid public gatherings.