Jammu: In a pre-dawn operation,
security forces today shot dead three Hizbul Mujahideen
militants, including two most wanted self-styled commanders,
in Shopian district of South Kashmir.
"We have killed three dreaded ultras of Hizbul
Mujahideen including most wanted divisional commander Saqib
and district commander Riyaz Paswal after nearly six-hour-long
gunbattle at Shatdhar-Nasarpora village of Keller,70 kms from
here," SP, Shopian, Shahid Mehraj told news agencies.
He said the three were killed during the course of a
joint search operation carried out by security forces in the
village.
Acting on a tip off about the presence of the top
militants, Shatdhar-Nasarpora village was cordoned off from
all sides in the wee hours and the contact with the militants
hiding in a house was established around 6.30 AM, the SP said.
He said the militants were asked to surrender after
they were surrounded by the search parties but they opened
fire and in the ensuing gunbattle which ended this afternoon,
all the three militants hiding in the house were killed.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition including three
rifles were recovered from them.
Describing the killing of Saqib and his close aide
Paswal as a "major breakthrough", Mehraj said the duo was
active for many years and wanted in a large number of
militancy-related incidents.
The identity of the third slain militant was being
ascertained.
The killing of the top militants comes just ahead of
the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the
valley on October 28.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate a 12-km
railway line connecting Anantnag and Qazigund that will mark
the completion of the rail project in the valley.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, October 26, 2009, 15:09