Militant killed hours after Hurriyat activist shot dead

Fake student identity card found from the spot where militant was killed

SRINAGAR : A militant was shot dead in Srinagar on Saturday afternoon at Naseem bagh, hours after a Hurriyat activist was killed by unidentified gunmen in Sopore, police said. Police said the militant was affiliated with IS-JK.

Unidentified gunmen killed a 42-year-old Hurriyat activist Hakeem Rahman at north Kashmir’s Bomia village of Sopore on Saturday. The activist was affiliated with the group led by Syed Ali Geelani and had been recently released from jail.

Officials said that Rehman was injured when gunmen opened fire on him outside his house at Bomia around seven kilometre from Sopore town. Police have blamed militants for the killing. No militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack.

“Hakim received critical bullet injuries in the attack and was taken to the nearby hospital for medical attention where he succumbed to his injuries,” the spokesman said.

Locals said that Hakim was recently released from the jail after serving a long detention. Large number of villagers raising pro freedom slogans participated in his funeral.

Joint Resistance Leadership

(JRL) also condemned the killing of Hurriyat activist.

In past three weeks, he is the second Hurriyat activist to be killed in north Kashmir. Earlier unidentified persons had killed Tariq Ahmad Malik at Zangpal Kunzer. Police blamed militants of Lashkar for the killing. However, Lashkar had blamed police for carrying out the killing of Malik. In the late afternoon, unidentified gunmen attacked a

young man identified as Asif Nazir Dar of Panzgam Awantipore. The police recovered a pistol from the spot and a student identity card. Policeman spokesman said Bhat was active since January 2017.

“Initially he had joined Hizbul Mujahideen and later got associated with the Esa Fazili group of Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir (IS-JK) and could have been killed by a rival group.

A senior police officer said the family has identified the body of the militant. “He might have been killed by rival militants,” he said.

The officer said the identity card, which identified him as Ishfaq Ahmad, a student of Islamic University, was fake. Police have registered a case and the investigation has been initiated. The body has been handed over to the legal heirs.