A former lecturer was among the two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM) ultras killed in an encounter with security forces in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday.
Two police officers were also injured in the gun fight.
Police said the gunfight broke out after security forces intercepted two militants travelling in a vehicle near Amargarh village of Sopore, 50 km from here.
“After receiving information that militants were travelling in a vehicle and were planning terrorist action in Sopore, the police and security forces immediately swung into action and intercepted them near Amargarh,” they said.
When the security forces conducted a search operation, the militants lobbed a grenade at the search party and fired at them. Superintendent of Police (Operation) Baramulla Shafqat Hussain and Sub-Inspector Mohammad Murtaza were injured in the firing.
In the retaliatory action, both the militants were killed, the police said. Two AK series rifles, one pistol, four hand grenades and other ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.
The slain militants were identified as Azhar Khan alias Gazi Umar of Kupwara and Sajjad Ahmed, a resident of Bomai in Sopore.
Senior Superintendent of Police Baramulla Imtiyaz Hussain said that Khan was working as an Arabic lecturer at a college before joining the militancy six months ago.”
He had joined militancy during the 2016 unrest and was trying to motivate local youth to join the HM,” he told DH.
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