SRINAGAR Six militants affiliated with Lashker-e-Toiba and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen were killed in a gunfight with government forces at Bijbehara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Friday.
The slain included Azad Malik alias Azad Dada, a close aide of Lashkar-e-Toiba c commander Naveed Jatt, police said.
Thousands of people offered multiple rounds of funeral for the slain militants who also include Unais Shafi of Takiya Maqbool Shah Bijbehara, Basit Ishtiyaq of Pushwara Anantnag, Atif Najar of Waghama Bijbehara, Firdous Ahmad of Muchpuna Pulwama and Shahid Bashir of Kawni Awantipora.
“Based on a credible input about the presence of militants, a cordon-and-search operation was launched jointly by police and security forces at the onset of dawn today inside a jungle area of Sekipora at Bijbehara,” a police officer said. As the searches were going on, He said the search party was fired upon by the militants which oin retaliation led to a gunfight.
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During the course of gunfight, six militants were killed and their bodies retrieved from the site of encounter along with huge quantity of arms and ammunition including 4 AK 47 rifles and one Insas rifle.
No collateral damage took place in this incident, a police spokesman said in a statement issued here.
After conducting all medico formalities, the bodies were handed over to their respective families for last rites.
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“It was a combined group of (Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and LeT as Unais Shafi and Basit Ishtiyaq as per police records were with (Hizb-ul-Mujahideen) and Unais was the district commander of Anantnag district, while the others were with LeT outfit”, the spokesman said.
All the killed slain were wanted by the law for their complicity in a series of militant crimes including attack on security establishments, the spokesman said.
“As per police records Unais Shafi and Basit Ishtiyaq were involved in several grenade lobbing and firing incidents. Firdous Ahmad known as district commander of Pulwama for LeT had a long history of crime records including cases and the prominent among them include FIR No 16/2018, FIR No 131/2018, FIR No 139/2018, FIR No 284/2018 registered at PS Pulwama and FIR No 37/2018 at PS Rajpora,” the spokesman said.
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Similarly, the spokesman said, Shahid was also involved in militant related cases as well.
Azad Ahmad Malik alias Azad Dada who was district commander of LeT Anantnag had escaped from an encounter site at Khudwani Kulgam in April 2018 along with one more associate, the spokesman said, adding, Azad was a close associate of absconding accused Naveed Jatt. Azad Dada among several other militant offences had also figured in the case FIR No: 51/2018 PS Kothi Bagh pertaining to the assassination of journalist Shujaat Bukhari and his security personnel.
The spokesman said that a hue and cry notice was issued against Azad along with three others in connection with the assassination case on the basis of material evidence collected.
Citizens are once again requested not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosives materials if any, the spokesman added.
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Meanwhile, thousands of people participated multiple round of funeral prayers in native village of the slain militants while internet services were suspended in the south Kashmir district. Train services to and fro south Kashmir was suspended.
15 Injured In Clashes
At least 15 persons were injured in clashes with government forces in parts of Kashmir Valley on Friday.
Reports said the clashes erupted at Bijbehara, SK Colony Anantnag, Pulwama, Saraf Kadal, Nowhatta, following the killing of six militants in a gunfight with government forces at Bijbehara, Anantnag.
Police and paramilitary forces deployed in strength in these areas used tear smoke shells, pellets and some live ammunition to disperse the protesters.
In government forces action at Bijbehara, a youth Umer Nazir, 22, received bullet injuries in his right arm. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital wherefrom he was referred to Bones and Joints hospital, Barzulla, Srinagar.
Meanwhile, parts of Anantnag including Bijbehara and Pulwama observed spontaneous shut down to mourn the death of the militants.
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