Militant killed on Monday said to be Shopian youth who joined Lashkar in 2017

Anantnag: The nightlong operation in the forest area of Aharbal, here in Kulgam district, was concluded Tuesday morning following a combing operation and no fresh contact being established with any other militants.
Police had said on Monday evening that one “unidentified” militant had been killed soon after the gunfight had started in the forest area.
“We are trying to ascertain his identity,” a senior police official from Kulgam had said.
A police official, however, told Kashmir Reader that the slain militant was Amir Yousuf Mir, son of Muhammad Yousuf Mir, a resident of Chek Cholan village in Shopian district.
“He was a member of Lashkar-e-Taiba and had joined the ranks in 2017,” a highly placed police source told Kashmir Reader. “He was one of the longest surviving militants in recent times here in Kulgam district,” he added.
The gunfight took place in Kungwatan in Aharbal area, which was cordoned off late Monday afternoon following inputs regarding the presence of militants there, the police official from Kulgam said, adding that contact was established with militants soon after the operation was initiated.
He said that the militants, in a bid to escape, opened indiscriminate fire which was retaliated, killing one of the militants. “The others managed to escape,” he said.
The operation continued through the night as forces combed the forest area to track down other militants hiding there. The search operation however yielded no results and the operation was called off early Tuesday morning.
The body of the slain militant, meanwhile, has been retrieved along with arms and ammunition. “An AK-47 rifle and a pistol have been retrieved along with some incriminating material,” the police official said.
A family has been called for the identification of the slain and following the identification process the body will be sent to north Kashmir for burial, post the medico-legal formalities.
The authorities have not been handing over bodies of slain militants to their families since April last year. Attributing the decision to stop the spread of coronavirus, initially, the authorities have continued with the practice ever since, thus curbing the huge gatherings that had become common during funerals of slain militants.

Suhail A Shah