Two Hizbul militants killed in Bijbehara encounter

Our Correspondent

Bijbehara, April 25

Two local militants of the HizbulMujahideen were killed in a pre-dawn gunfight with security forces in Bijbehara town of south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Thursday.

The slain militants were identified as Safdar Amin Bhat, a resident of the Bijbehara town, and Burhan Ahmad Ganie, alias Dr Burhan, a resident of the SK Colony area in main town Anantnag.

Bhat had joined the militant ranks in May 2017, while Ganie, who was pursuing bachelors in physiotherapy, had joined the ranks in June last year.

The gunfight, first in main town Bijbehara in 19 years, took place near the local public works department (PWD) office, along the old alignment of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

The PWD office served as a polling booth on April 23 where former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti cast her vote.

“We had inputs about their presence and we laid a cordon and began the search operations around2 amon Thursday,” a senior police officer from Bijbehara said.

He said the militants were told to surrender, but they, instead, chose to fight and opened fire around2.30 am which was duly retaliated.

“The exchange of fire continued for more than three hours before both militants were neutralised,” the official said, adding that the bodies, along with weapons and some incriminating material, were retrieved from the house.

The house where militants were held up was damaged by the use of heavy explosives by the security forces.

Later in the day, the bodies of the militants were handed over to their families. Amid a shutdown across Anantnag, thousands reached Bijbehara and the SK Colony area of the Anantnag town to participate in multiple rounds of funeral prayers held for the slain.

The authorities had not restored the Internet services across Anantnag town till reports last came in.