Two Hizbul terrorists gunned down, two others held in J&K

Srinagar: Two Hizbul terrorists were gunned down on Sunday while two militants have been apprehended in separate incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.

The fatalities occurred when militants attacked a police search party in Padgampora area of Pulwama district on Sunday.

They came in a car from behind and started firing at the last vehicle of the convoy officials said.

 One of the slain militants has been identified as Shahbaz Safi Wani alias Rayees Kachru, who was active in the area since June, 2016. 

The other one is a "recycled" militant, Farooq Ahmed Hurrah from Shopian, who had surrendered in 2010 and was out on parole.

The driver of the car, in which the two militants were travelling, managed to flee, the officials said, adding that a hunt has been launched to nab him to ascertain whether he was kidnapped or a part of the overground network of the militant group.

The security forces have cordoned off the area after the attack.

In another incident, two militants were apprehended when they tried to snatch an AK-47 rifle from a policeman on Tawi bridge in Baramulla on Saturday.

One of their associates, however, managed to escape.

A red alert was issued after the incident.

"We have arrested two persons belonging to the Kashmir Valley in yesterday's (Saturday) rifle snatching incident," IANS quoted Jammu Zone Inspector General of Police S.D. Singh Jamwal as saying.

One of the cops, Muhammad Hanief, was reportedly wounded in the scuffle and has been shifted to a nearby government hospital.

He was deployed as the personal security guard of Maulana Dehlavi, Chairman of Anjuman-e-Minhaj-e-Rasool, a religious organisation when he was attacked by the militants.

A manhunt is on for the third accused who had fled with the rifle. All three were suspected of being connected to the Hizbul outfit.