Budgam, February 13 (KNO) : Two local militants affiliated with Hizb-ul-Mujahideen were on Wednesday killed in an overnight gunfight that raged between militants and government forces in Wathoora Gopalpora area of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district.
A joint team of Army and Police launched the search operation in Wathoora area after receiving specific inputs about the presence of militants in the area, police said, adding that as soon as the search team approached towards suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon government forces, triggering an encounter resulted in killing of two militants. A police officer said that at around 3 am there was brief exchange of fire, later cordon was tightened and fresh contact was established, in which two militants were killed.
Police identified the slain militants as Hilal Ahmad Wani, son of Mohd Akram Wani alias Abu Maaz of Munchew Yaripora in Kulgam district and Shoaib Mohd Lone @Mursi, son of Late Arshad Hussain of Bumrath Okay Kulgam. As per police records, both the militants were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities.
“Hilal Wani had a long history of terror crime records and was involved in several terrorist cases. Hilal was the main person responsible for the recruitment into the terrorist fold and was longest surviving terrorist who was operating across the southern and central belts of the valley ever since he had joined the terrorist ranks in 2015. He was responsible for conspiring and executing many terror attacks on the security establishments in the valley,” police said.
Similarly, police said Shoaib Lone @ Mursi was involved in several attacks and other civilian atrocities and several cases were registered against him. “He was also part of groups involved in conspiring and executing attacks in the valley,” he said.
Police said incriminating material including arms and ammunition was recovered from the site of encounter, saying all these materials have been taken in the case records for the purpose of investigation and probe their complicity in other cases. “Bodies of the slain militants were later handed over to their family after completion of medico-legal formalities,” police said.
Meanwhile, police appealed citizens not to venture inside the encounter zone since such an area can prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials, adding that “people are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosive materials if any.”(KNO)