11
A militant owing alliance to Lashkar-e-Toiba was killed in a brief encounter with troops in Kokernag area of this south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Tuesday.
A police officer said after receiving inputs about presence of militants in Khalhaar village of Kokernag, troops cordoned the village.
“We laid siege around the area at about 3 am after receiving specific inputs regarding presence of militants in the area. When security men zeroed in on the house, where the militant was hiding, they came under fire from the militant,” he said.
He said the militant fired indiscriminately in an attempt to break the cordon and escape.
“The fire, however, was retaliated and the militant was killed in a brief exchange of fire,” the police official said.
The slain militant was identified as Mushtaq Ahmad Haroo alias Adil son of Muhammad Amin of Pushwara Anantnag.
SSP Anantnag, Abdul Jabbar, told Rising Kashmir that the slain militant kept switching sides between militant organizations and was presently a member of Lashkar-e-Toiba.
The militant’s body was handed over to his family by police after the due identification and medico-legal procedures.
His funeral was held at Pushwara where thousands of people, including some separatist leaders, attended the payers amidst chanting of pro-freedom and pro-Islamic slogans.
Following the burial, protests and clashes broke out in many parts of Anantnag town. The clashes were going on till last reports came in.
Haroo was one of the seven militants presently active in Anantnag district. He was a Pakistani Trained Militant (PTM), who was arrested in 2006. He remained in jail for a few years before being released.
“He again joined the militant ranks some 4-5 months ago,” SSP Anantnag said.