Militant ‘recruiter’, his associate killed in Chadoora gunfight

Srinagar: Two militants were killed in a gunfight in Gopalpora area of Chadoora in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Wednesday.Militant outfit Hizb Ul Mujahideen has paid tributes to both the slain militants.
Reports said government forces cordoned off the area after receiving a tip off about the presence of militants. The gunfight started in the middle of the night that ended during wee hours with the killing of two local militants who both hail from South Kashmir’s Kulgam district. Police identified the two young slain militants as
Hilal Ahmad Wani son of Muhammad Akram Wani a resident of Yaripora and Shoaib Ahmed Lone alias Mursi son of Late Arshad Hussain of Kulgam.
A police spokesperson said that as per police records, both the militants were affiliated with proscribed outfit HM and were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of attacks on security establishments.
The spokesman said Hilal Wani had a long history of militant records and was involved in several cases.
“Hilal was the main person responsible for the recruitment into the militant fold and was longest surviving militant who was operating across the southern and central belts of the valley ever since he had joined the militant ranks in 2015,” said the spokesman.
“He was responsible for conspiring and executing many militant attacks on the security establishments in the valley,” he said.
“Similarly Shoaib Lone @ Mursi was involved in several attacks and several cases were registered against him. He was also part of groups involved in conspiring and executing attacks in the valley,” he added.
“Incriminating material including arms and ammunition was recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in the case records for the purpose of investigation and probe their complicity in other terror cases,” said the spokesman. “Bodies of the slain militants were handed over to their family after completion of medico-legal formalities,” he said.
Meanwhile, thousands of people participated in the last rites of these two slain militants.
Meanwhile militant outfit Hizbul Mujhadeen Wednesday paid rich tributes to two militants killed in Central Kashmir gunfight. Hilal Ahmad Wani of Yaripora and Shoaib Ahmed Lone alias Mursi of Okay Kulgam died at Gopalpora Chadoora after Forces engaged them into a gun battle.
Burhanuddin, Hizb Operational Spokesperson told local news gathering agency CNS over phone that outfit Chief Syed Salahuddin was pained at the death of these two budding youth. “Shoib Ahmed Lone’s father Arshid Ahmed was also part of Hizb who attained martyrdom for sake of Kashmir. We salute the bravery of these two young militants who sacrificed everything for Kashmir Movement,” Burhanuddin quoted Salahuddin as having said.
“The character like Mir Jaffar and Mir Sadiq will suffer greatest humiliation and they won’t succeed in their designs. The ‘Informers’ are always losers,” he said adding the Sun of Freedom will rise sooner or later in Kashmir.