Three suspected militants were killed in separate gunfights with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam and Srinagar districts.
The gunfight in Srinagar broke out on Thursday night. The police identified the man who was killed as Aamir Riyaz, an affiliate of the militant outfit Mujahideen Gazwatul Hind.
Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said that Riyaz was related to one of the accused persons in the Lethpora attack. A rifle along with ammunition were recovered from the militant, the police said.
In the Lethpora attack, 40 security forces personnel were killed after an explosive-laden car driven by a suicide bomber rammed into their bus in Pulwama district in February 2019. In August, the National Investigation Agency had filed a chargesheet in the case.
In the Kulgam encounter, the police said they killed two militants, including the district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Shiraz Molvi. The other militant has been identified as Yawar Bhat.
Kumar claimed that Molvi recruited youth into militant ranks and was involved in the killing of civilians in the Union Territory. He said that Molvi had been active since 2016.
In the last month, militants have killed 11 civilians in Jammu and Kashmir. The Resistance Front, believed to be an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for most of them.
The police also recovered arms and ammunition from Molvi and Bhat.
A police spokesperson said that the gunfight broke out on Thursday evening after the police and security forces launched a search operation in Chawalgam following inputs about the presence of militants there, reported Greater Kashmir.
On Friday, Kumar said that 133 militants, including top commanders, have been killed so far this year, reported ANI.
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