Two militants of Jaish-e-Mohammad outfit including a commander were killed in a swift action by police and security in capital Srinagar. The action came a few hours after Hizbul Mujahideen militants shot dead three policemen including a junior officer in two separate attacks in the capital city on Monday morning.
locals said that the two slain men had taken a room on rent in a building at Saraibala a few days ago introducing themselves as students from south Kashmir. Police have taken grandson of the widowed landlady in custody for questioning.
Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra said that among the two slain militants one has been identified as Saifullah, while the identity of another slain militant is being ascertained. The DGP said that one AK-47, one pistol and other weapons were recovered from the encounter site.
Police said that after specific information about the presence of militants, forces cordoned off Saraibala area and launched house to house searches at around10:00 pm on Monday.
“The two militants fired on the search party. We retaliated and the militants were killed in a brief encounter,” the official said.
A shutdown was observed in the locality on Tuesday against the killing of two militants. All shops and other business establishments in the area remained closed and vehicular movement was affected. There were reports of minor clashes between a group of local youth and police in the area.
The youngsters attempted to hold funeral prayers in absentia for the slain militants. Meanwhile, senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani rejected police claim that the slain men were militants and they died in an encounter. He demanded impartial probe into the gun-battle and described it as “staged”.