Agencies:

Hizb commander killed in Srinagar outskirts

Srinagar
October 2, 2020

Police on Sunday said that Security forces killed a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen on the outskirts of Srinagar and apprehended a suspect from the encounter spot.

Police identified the slain as Saifullah Mir alias Dr. Saifullah alias Ghazi Haider, the operational chief of the HM.
The encounter broke out in Wawoosa area of Rangreth on Sunday afternoon after Special operation Group of J&K Police, Central Reserve Police Force and Army�s 53 Rashtriya Rifles cordoned the area on specific information about the presence of militants.

The place where the encounter took place is less than a kilometer away from the old airfield and Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Headquarters.

The house in which the militant had taken shelter suffered damage in the encounter. Soon after the exchange of fire the militant came out of the house and was killed in open.
Inspector General of Police Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, said, �We gave him an opportunity to surrender, however he fired on the search party, which was retaliated leading to an encounter in which he was killed.�


Saifullah, a resident of Pulwama�s Malangpora village, had a diploma in medical electronics from the Industrial Training Institute in Pulwama and another from the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology in Srinagar. His knowledge of medical technology had earned him the nickname �Doctor,� a senior police officer said.

Saifullah had taken over the reins of the militant outfit in May this year after his predecessor Riyaz Naikoo was killed in a gun battle in his native village of Beighpora in Pulwama district.