3 militants killed in J&K encounter, arms recovered

SRINAGAR:Three RESTRICTIONS HAVE BEEN IMPOSED AND ALL SCHEDULED EXAMS IN KASHMIR HAVE BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER ORDERS

militants, including one who allegedly killed a policeman in Srinagar last month, were shot dead in an encounter with security forces early on Monday, police said.

Two of the slain militants have been identified as Eesa Fazli, of Srinagar, and Syed Owais Shafi, of south Kashmir’s Kokernag, while the identity of the third is being ascertained, a police statement said.

Based on information regarding the presence of militants, security forces started a search in Hakoora area of Anantnag district. A gun-battle ensued when the militants fired on the search team, officials said.

Police said AK 47 rifles, pistols and hand grenades have been recovered from the encounter site. Authorities have imposed restrictions and ordered that all educational institutes in Srinagar will remain closed for the day. All scheduled exams in Kashmir have been postponed.

A senior police officer said Fazli, who hails from the Soura locality of Srinagar city, was the alleged mastermind behind the killing of police constable Farooq Ahmed Yatoo, when he was on duty as a guard outside the residence of separatist leader Fazal Haq Qureshi, who had survived an attempt on his life in 2009.

The terror outfit Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the killing of constable Yatoo on their official channel. Police sources say Fazli’s relation with the IS is a matter of investigation, and hinted at his inclination towards the outfit.

HT had quoted police saying after Yatoo’s killing that although there was no concrete evidence of the presence of the IS in Kashmir, the possibility of a lone militant getting influenced by the outfit’s ideology and carrying out an attack could not be ruled out.

Media reports said Fazli was studying engineering at Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah (BGSB) University in Rajouri in Jammu region before joining the militant ranks in August last year.

IS claiming Yatoo’s killing was the second such incident in the last four months. In November last year, IS claimed an attack in Zakura on the outskirts of Srinagar in which a policeman and a militant were killed.