2 Hizb militants killed in Srinagar gunfight

Majid Jahangir 

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 19

Junaid Sehrai, son of a top Kashmiri separatist leader Ashraf Sehrai, was among two Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed in an encounter in Srinagar’s old city on Tuesday.

Three CRPF and one police personnel were also injured in the gunfight.

Read: Junaid Sehrai graduated as terrorist from his father’s separatist politics

The encounter broke out in the wee hours when joint teams of police and CRPF launched a cordon and search operation in the Kanemazar Nawakadal locality of downtown Srinagar, following an input about militant presence.

"The operation was launched in the congested locality around 2 am and the contact with militants was established immediately when the suspected area was being cordoned. After the initial exchange of fire, there was a lull for many hours. A fresh contact with militants was established around 8 am, and in the exchange of fire two militants were killed," said a police officer. “A policeman of counter-insurgency unit was also injured in the gunfight.”

A house was also damaged during the encounter, the officer revealed.

A senior police officer identified one of the slain militants as Junaid Sehari, a top commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

Junaid, 30, had passed out of Kashmir University with an MBA degree before he joined the militant ranks in March 2018.

Police said Junaid was the divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen and was looking after central Kashmir. “He was wanted in multiple criminal cases,” said the senior officer.

Soon after the gunfight broke, the authorities suspended low-speed mobile Internet and voice calling service of all operators, except for the BSNL, in the Srinagar district.

This is the second major setback to Hizbul Mujahideen in less than a fortnight. On May 6, Hizb operational chief Riyaz Naikoo was killed along with his aide in south Kashmir.

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