Srinagar: Following a night long siege, a fierce gunfight that started early on Saturday between trapped Hizbul terrorists and the security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district resulted in killing of terrorist Sabzar Bhat, a top Hizbul commander carrying a reward of Rs ten Lakh on head.
Apart from Sabzar who had replaced Burhan Wani as its commander, one more terrorists has been neutralised by the security forces but the identity of the second terrorist is still to be established, said a police official adding that the encounter continues with a few more terrorists believed to be hiding in the same house in Saimoh village in Tral town where Sabzar was killed.
A senior police official said that besides Sabzar Bhat, at least three other Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were trapped inside a house in Saimoh village in Tral town of the district.
Police sources said that Sabzar Ahmad, alias Abu Zarar, was killed after he was trapped inside a house by security forces.
Two other terrorists were trapped along with Sabzr and of them one was a Pakistani. Of these two, Faizan Muzaffar Bhatt, a middle rung Hizbul terrorist was also killed in the encounter following an exchanges of heavy fire between the terrorists and security forces, said the police sources.
The police official said that the security forces have intercepted a social media message in which the locals were appealed to come out in large number to pelt stones at the security forces that could help the trapped terrorists break the security cordon and escape.
“Immediately after the said message was spread on a social media platform, locals at five locations came out and were indulging in stone pelting,” said the police official.
He said that the security forces were prepared in advance for such a situation and have confined the protestor to their respective areas with no impact on the ongoing operation against the trapped terrorists.
It may be mentioned here that earlier, the security forces had cordoned off the area where the terrorists were hiding after patrol party of Army’s 42 Rashtriya Rifles on Friday evening was fired at by the terrorists in Tral.
Although no casualty or injury was reported in the said attack by the terrorists, the security forces cordoned off the area where the terrorists after fleeing, had been hiding in a house, said the police official adding that the number of terrorists trapped is between three to five.
Meanwhile, protests are underway at a neighbouring village of Ratsuna where a civilian was injured when police fired pellets during a protest.