Five top militants of pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen, three of them self-styled commanders, were arrested as five people, including two ultras and a woman, were killed in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir since Thursday evening.
The five Hizbul militants were arrested during overnight raids on their hideouts in different parts of Srinagar by Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police.
A police spokesman said that the captured ultras were identified as Ashfaq Ahmad Bhat, a self-styled battalion commander, Farooq Ahmad Rather, Ashiq Ahmad Sofi, Imtiaz Ahmad Sofi and Bashir Ahmad Bhat.
Describing the arrests as a prize catch, he said that the ultras were wanted in a large number of militancy-related incidents in Srinagar.
Their interrogation was likely to lead to unearthing of Hizbul network in the city, the spokesman said, adding that more arrests were expected.
Two militants were killed during search operations by security forces in Anantnag and Kupwara districts, while three people, including a woman, were killed in Jammu division.
Army apprehended a person in Chuntimulla area in frontier district of Kupwara on the charge of providing information to militants. A wireless set was recovered from him, the spokesman said. Bureau Report