A Hizbul Mujahideen commander was killed in Kupwara district on Tuesday, while a rifle was snatched by suspected militants from a policeman in Budgam district.
A gunfight erupted in Kupwara district’s Nagri village, around 90 km north of Srinagar, when the Army and the police zeroed in on a house where the militant was hiding.
“The operation was launched after specific intelligence about the presence of a terrorist. Attempts were made to persuade the terrorist to surrender but he resorted to firing. The firing stopped by 9 a.m. with the elimination of the terrorist,” said Srinagar-based defence spokesman Colonel N.N. Joshi.
During the operation locals protested and hurled stones near the encounter site, a worrying trend for the security agencies.
The slain militant was identified as Sameer Ahmad Wani, a resident of Sopore’s Dooru area. “One Chinese pistol and some ammunition were recovered,” said Col. Joshi. Wani is believed to have joined the Hizb’s split faction of the Lashkar-e-Islam in 2015, which started a wave of attacks on mobile telephony in north Kashmir.
Violent protests broke out in the militant’s native place in Sopore. One police vehicle, which was on its way to Kupwara with detainees aboard, was stopped in Sopore’s Siva area and set ablaze by protesters.
“All the prisoners are safe,” said Deputy Inspector General, North Kashmir, Uttam Chand.
Sporadic protests
Sporadic protests were reported in Sopore and Kupwara. Security forces lobbed smoke shells to disperse the protesters.
In Budgam district, at least six militants barged into the house of a defeated BJP candidate Abdul Rehman Chopan and snatched an AK-56 rifle from his Special Personal Security Officer.
The incident took place around 9 a.m. when Mr. Chopan was inside his residence in Chadoora’s Panzan village. “The PSO has been detained for questioning,” said the police officer.