‘Extremely dangerous’ militant killed in Samboora: DGP

‘Extremely dangerous’ militant killed in Samboora: DGP

Anantnag: One of the longest surviving militants in Kashmir was killed along with his close aide by government forces in Samboora village of Pulwama district, in an operation that was concluded early Monday morning, police said.
The slain militants were identified as Aijaz Ahmad Reshi and Sajad Ahmad Sofi, both members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba. “Two AK-47s, 4 magazines and ten rounds, apart from some incriminating material, was retrieved from the site of the gunfight,” a police source told Kashmir Reader.
He said that the bodies of the militants were sent for burial at an undisclosed location following completion of medico-legal formalities.
The gunfight had erupted in Samboora village Sunday evening, soon after a cordon and search operation was launched in the area. “By late evening, both the militants were killed as they tried to escape the house they were holed up in. They were killed in a nearby paddy field,” a senior police officer from the area said.
He said that the bodies could not be retrieved as it was dark and the operation had to be suspended for the night. “This morning, their bodies were retrieved and the operation was declared over,” the officer said.
On Monday afternoon, Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbagh Singh reached Awantipora Police Lines and addressed a press conference wherein he declared Reshi as an “extremely dangerous” militant, “who had signed up during the time of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani.”
“He worked as an OGW (over-ground worker) to begin with and he was the one who ferried militants to the spot in the fidayeen attack at the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) in Pampore,” Singh said.
He maintained that Reshi led militants in at least two other attacks in Pampore area, killing 8 CRPF men in one and 3 army men in the other. “He was also a major recruiter and trainer for young militants including his slain aide Sajad Ahmad Sofi,” Singh said.
Singh termed the killing as a major success for security forces in south Kashmir.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people thronged the site of the gunfight soon after the operation was over early this morning, including women and children.
Mobile internet services in Awantipora police district remained snapped throughout the day today.

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