Ashiq Hussain   

A wanted militant accused of decapitating a 19-year-old 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.

Police said Ahmed was from South Kashmir’s Kulgam and a highly-decorated soldier, who has been awarded Sena Medal twice.

A health department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said over 50 people, including an 18-month-old baby girl, with pellet and bullet injuries were admitted to hospitals after the clashes.

Separatists Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Yasin Malik issued a statement calling for a shutdown on Monday. They said the bandh was being called to “strongly protest and denounce the killing of 17 Kashmiris by Indian forces’ brutal action in the last three days”.

Apart from Bhat, police identified the other militants killed in Shopian as Mushtaq Ahmad Mir, Umar Majeed Ganaie, Waseem Wagay and Khalid Farooq Malik. The sixth militant was not immediately identified. Police said the six belonged to the Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir biggest indigenous militant group, and Pakistan-based Lashkar-eTaiba. “With their elimination, all notorious terrorists of the belt have been successfully eliminated.”

Police said a huge quantity of arms and ammunition, including rifles, were recovered from the firefight scene.

Later in the day, Jammu and Kashmir police tweeted that a militant was killed in a brief exchange of fire at Bathien in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Police said he was a Pakistani code-named Waseem.

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Ashiq Hussain letters@hindustantimes.com

Courtesy: Hindustan Times: 26th Nov, 2018