By IANS
Srinagar : Security forces have gunned down three top militants in two incidents of shooting in the Kashmir Valley, sources said Sunday.
A top guerrilla commander of the Harkatul Mujahideen (HUM) militant outfit was killed in a gunfight Sunday when a joint party of army and police raided a militant hideout in a north Kashmir village.
Acting on specific information, a joint team of 22 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police surrounded a house in Shiva village, near the apple-rich town Sopore, a defence spokesperson here said.
“As the troops were closing in, the hiding militant resorted to heavy firing. The fire was returned, resulting in a shootout in which the guerrilla commander was killed,” the spokesman said.
He identified the slain terrorist as Usman Kari, divisional commander of the HUM. One AK-56 rifle was recovered from the shootout site, the spokesperson said.
Earlier Saturday, according to the police, a top militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen and his aide were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Pulwama district.
Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Hanief Khan, the financial chief of HM, as the militant outfit is widely known, and Javaid Iqbal were killed late Saturday in Noorpora village in Pulwama, 42 km from here, a police official said.