india

Updated: Apr 25, 2019 22:13 IST

Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in Bijbehara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district after a gun battle with security forces on Thursday morning, officials said.

The police and security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation at Bagender Mohalla in Bijbehara following intelligence inputs on Thursday morning. The team was fired upon by militants who were hiding in a house.

In the retaliatory fire, two militants were killed. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site, one of the police officials said.

Police identified the slain militants as Safdar Amin of Bijbehara and Burhan Ahmad Ganaie alias Saifullah of Anantnag. Burhan, who was pursuing a Bachelor of Physiotherapy course, joined militant ranks in June last year. Safder became a militant in May 2017.

“The killed terrorists were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities. Several terror crime cases were registered against them,’’ the police official cited above said.

Funeral processions were taken out in the native places of both the militants and burials were held amid pro-freedom slogans.