JOIN USA Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday.
Police said the militant was killed after a joint team of army's 42-Rashtriya Rifle and special operations group (SOG) of J&K police cordoned off Chopan Mohalla area of Tral, 34 km from here, following information about the presence of militants in the area.
As the security forces intensified the searches, the hiding militants opened fire, triggering an encounter in which one local militant was killed. He has been identified as Adil Chopan, who had reportedly emerged unharmed from the debris of a house razed to the ground by security forces on May 20 when top militant commander Sabzar Bhat was killed.
Pictures of Chopan surrounded by locals at the gunfight site had gone viral on social media then.