‘Gun salute’ by militants at funeral

Anantnag, May 7

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A group of militants appeared at the funeral of a slain associate and fired a volley of bullets in the air as a form of gun salute in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district today.

The incident occurred during the funeral of Fayaz Ahmed, alias Setha, a resident of Qaimoh in Kulgam, who was killed in retaliatory fire yesterday after militants fired at a police party which had gone to Mir Bazaar area to investigate a road accident.

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Ahmed had been on the run since August 2015 after his name cropped up in the Udhampur terror strike case.

Three civilians and a cop were also killed yesterday. 

At least four militants, their faces not concealed, appeared in the crowd during the funeral today and offered a “gun salute” to the slain militant. They raised some slogans and then fled.

The incident comes just a couple of days after the security forces carried out a major combing operation in the neighbouring Shopian district to flush out militants.

There have been several instances of militants appearing at funerals of slain associates in recent times in what appears to have taken the shape of a disturbing trend.

The slain militant carried a cash reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head and had been chargesheeted by the NIA.

The three civilians who got killed were working for Hyderabad-based company RAMKY, entrusted with NH widening in Kashmir.  — TNS/PTI