Soldier, civilian, seven militants killed in J&K

SRINAGAR: A wanted militant accused of decapitating a 19-yearold man on November 17 and killing army officer Lt Omar Fayaz, 22, in May 2017 was among seven militants killed in two separate firefights with security forces in South Kashmir on Sunday, police said.

A 17-year-old civilian, Nouman, was killed in clashes with security forces at the scene of the first firefight in Shopian. Nazir Ahmed, a soldier, was wounded in the exchange of fire with militants and later succumbed to his injuries.

There has been an escalation in the violence in Kashmir since November 15 with the killing of 29 people. The slain include 19 militants, seven civilians and three security forces personnel. A bulk of the militants — 17 — have been killed in South Kashmir’s militant strongholds of Shopian, Anantnag and Pulwama districts since Wednesday alone.

Jammu and Kashmir police spokesman Manoj Kumar said Abass Bhat, one of the seven militants, was involved in the recent spate of killings in Shopian, including Huzaif Ashraf’s decapitation. Militants sent shock waves through Kashmir by slitting Ashraf’s throat in captivity and posting the video of his execution on social media. Ashraf was among the seven men abducted from South Kashmir for being alleged police informers.

Barring Ashraf and another teen, Nadeem Manzoor Dar, 18, the rest of them were freed. Dar was shot dead on November 15.

“He (Bhat) was [also] wanted… [for the] killing of young officer trainee, Lt Omar Fayaz, advocate Imtiyaz Khan and four police personnel at Shopian in August this year and many other civilian killings in the area,” Kumar said in a statement.

Three men barged into the house of Fayaz’s uncle in Shopian and abducted him in May 2017 while he was attending his cousin’s wedding. His body was found a day later in a neighbouring village.

Fayaz was commissioned into the army a year earlier in December 2016.

Police said Bhat was killed in the firefight after security forces cordoned off Batagund village following a tip-off about the militant presence in the area. Kumar said the holed up militants fired as the searches were going on, killing Nazir Ahmad, the soldier.

AMONG THE MILITANTS KILLED IS THE ONE WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR KILLING OF LT OMAR FAYAZ IN MAY 2017