Top Hizbul militant Burhan Wani killed in Anantnag encounter

SRINAGAR: Hizbul Mujahideens poster boy Burhan Wani is suspected to have been killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Kokernag in Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir security sources said on Friday

Updated At : 02:00 AM Jul 09, 2016 IST

Burhan Muzafar Wani (second row, third from left) poses with a group of militants at an orchard in south Kashmir.

Srinagar, July 8

Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani killed in encounter with security forces in Kokernag in Anantnag district, Jammu and Kashmir Police Chief K Rajendra said on Friday.

Wani, 21, was killed with two other militants, the sources said.

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The shootout began when militants began firing at a joint team of police and the Army, who had launched a search operation in Bumdoora village in Kokernag after they received intelligence reports of militants hiding in the area, a police official said.

Known to be one of the most prominent faces of the militant outfit, Wani is believed to have inspired several youngsters.

He shot to fame after his videos asking youth in Kashmir to join militancy appeared on social media. His last video appeared last month after the outfit murdered three policemen at Anantnag in South Kashmir warning the government of more attacks.

The young militant, who carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh, is believed to have taken up arms to avenge his elder brother's humiliation by the security forces, who made him do squats after picking him up for "no crime".

Others killed along with him were Sartaz, a resident of Kokernag who was believed to have carried out several attacks on police in South Kashmir. The identity of the third was yet to be ascertained.

Meanwhile, separatists Asiya Andrabi and Syed Ali Shah Geelani gave a shutdown call in the state against the killing of Wani.— Agencies/ TNS