Top militant commander, associate killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir: police

Indian police officials Tuesday said they have killed a top militant commander and his associate in a gunfight in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The slain duo, according to police, were foreigners and belonged to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant outfit.

As per details given by a senior police official, the gunfight broke out on Monday night at a locality in main Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"The gunfight triggered at around 10:30 p.m. after policemen launched house to house searches at Saraibala locality and in the subsequent gunfight two militants were killed," a senior police official posted in Srinagar said.

The police claimed one of the killed militants was Saifullah, the operations head of JeM, while the identity of the second militant was yet to be known.

Police officials said they carried out the operation on specific intelligence information about presence of militants in the locality.

So far JeM has not issued any statement confirming the incident. Militant organisations usually issued statements about gunfights to pay tributes to their slain cadres.

Shops were closed in Saraibala locality and people tried to stage protests. However, police fired tear smoke to disperse people.

On Monday three policemen were killed in two militant attacks in the city. The attacks shattered months of relative calm in Srinagar.

A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troopers stationed in the region since 1989. However, of late Indian policemen too have been trained to fight them.

Gunfights between the two sides take place intermittently across the region.

Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Endit