SRINAGAR: Two militants, including top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sameer Tiger , and a civilian were killed in an encounter and subsequent protests in Drubgam village of Pulwama district in south Kashmir on Monday. An Army major and several locals were injured in the incident.J&K police identified the two slain militants as Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sameer Ahmad Bhat, alias Tiger, and Aaqib Mushtaq Khan, both residents of Pulwama. The civilian killed during the protests has been identified as Shahid, 25, of Arihal village. He succumbed to injuries at the hospital.Tiger’s killing is a major blow to Hizbul. He was considered the main recruiter for the extremist group as well as the brain behind several political killings in the Valley. Being one of the longest surviving militants, he was also very close to Jaish-e-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba recruits in Pulwama and Shopian districts.He joined Hizbul in April 2016, three months before Burhan Wani’s killing. A senior J&K police official said he was involved in killing of policemen and would aggressively go after police and army informers and workers of political parties. “He was involved in several stone pelting incidents prior to his militant activities.He was active in the area since May 2016,” read the police statement. Meanwhile, Hurriyat leadership led by Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umer Farooq and Yasin Malik has called for a Kashmir shutdown on Tuesday against the “Pulwama killings”.