By IANS
Srinagar : In a major success against separatist guerrillas, Kashmir police Monday claimed to have killed Bilal Afghani the chief commander of the Al-Badr outfit.
Ashaq Hussain Bukhari, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Badgam district told IANS here: “Bilal Afghani alias Chota Bilal, the chief commander of the Al-Badr militant group was killed in an encounter with the police and the central reserve police force (CRPF) today (Monday) in village Arath (Beerwah) of Badgam district.
“We are now trying to recover the slain militant’s body from the debris at the encounter site,” the SSP said.
Acting on specific information, soldiers of the special operations group (SOG) of the local police and CRPF Sunday had surrounded a house in Arath (Beerwah) village of Badgam district, 25 km from Srinagar.
“The encounter lasted for over 24 hours. Two CRPF soldiers sustained minor injuries in the operation. The encounter is over, but since the debris is still hot, we might take some more time to recover the body of the slain militant commander,” Bukhari said.
Police confirmed that Bilal Afghani had been involved in attacks against the security forces in Kashmir for nearly eight years. “He was among the most wanted guerrilla commanders by the security forces,” the official said.