Srinagar, October 5
The Border Security Force (BSF) arrested seven militants, including a battalion commander, of the Hizbul Mujahideen, in separate raids in the city yesterday. The militants belonging to different parts of the city, were reportedly involved in a number of attacks here. A large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from them.

They have been identified as Irshad Ahmad Ahangar, alias Shahid, battalion commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, Imtiaz Ahmad Gujri, alias Khalid, deputy battalion commander, Showkat Ahmad Gujri, alias Umar, all residents of Nawakadal, Srinagar, Umar Tariq Malik, alias Riyaz, of Natiopra, Arshad Ahmad Bhat, code Altaf, of Nawakadal, Farooq Ahmad Bhat, alias Tariq of Safakadal and Mohammad Shafi Dar, finance distributor of the Hizbul Mujahideen, of Batamaloo.

Giving details, a BSF officer said acting on a specific information, the troops raided a militant hideout in the Idgah area on Friday evening and apprehended Irshad Ahmad along with five of his accomplices. In another raid one more militant was apprehended from the Batamaloo area.

The group, according to BSF spokesman, was involved in a number of attacks, including killing of two police personnel at Lal Chowk and one head constable of the BSF near the ITO. “They also confessed to their involvement in firing rifle grenades towards BSF camps at Karan Nagar, Veer Chattabal and Braripora”, the BSF spokesman said. Two recent grenade attacks on the office of the Pradesh Congress Committee, were also made by the group, the spokesman said, adding that the group was also involved in two separate grenade attacks in the Batamaloo area in the past two months in which 16 civilians were injured.

The spokesman said the group was planning to step up militant activities in the coming days, particularly after the Assembly elections and during the forthcoming period of darbar move in Srinagar. Their agenda included sensational actions like firing rifle grenades at important installations targeting political leaders and activists who recently participated in the electoral process.

One AK rifle, four Chinese pistols, three grenade launchers (UBGL), a wireless set, 13 rifle grenades and other ammunition were recovered from the militants.

UNI adds: With just two days left for polls in the Lolab Assembly segment, militants detonated a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at a polling booth at Sogam, killing four BSF personnel while elsewhere in the state 12 militants and two security men were among 15 persons killed during the past 24 hours.

Official sources told UNI that militants triggered the IED when BSF personnel entered the Government Degree College complex at Sogam where a polling booth was set up for the Lolab Assembly segment going to polls on October 8 along with six other Assembly constituencies of Doda district in the fourth and final phase of Jammu and Kashmir elections.

Two BSF personnel were killed on the spot while two others were critically wounded, sources said.

Later, both the injured died on way to hospital, sources said.

The election in the Lolab segment was countermanded following the death of National Conference (NC) candidate and Minister of State for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Mushtaq Ahmad Lone on September 11 at Tekipora when he was addressing an election meeting.

An official spokesman said an encounter took place between militants and security forces at Hunoora village in Baramulla district last night during a search operation. Three militants and a security jawan were killed in the clash, he said, adding three AK rifles, six magazines, 200 rounds and 8 UBGL were recovered from the site of the encounter.

A security jawan was killed when militants attacked a patrol party at Kanghar in Doda district last night.

However, security forces gunned down two militants at Chasana while another was killed at Chhonga area late last night during two different encounters.

He said militants shot dead one Hayat Mir at Urpash Ganderbal this morning while a ruling NC leader Haji Abdul Aziz Baba was shot at and critically wounded by militants at Qazigund in south Kashmir last night.

He said security forces gunned down one militant each of Lashkar- e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad at Chanapora in Baramulla and Vilgam in the frontier district of Kupwara, respectively.

A local militant of Hizbul Mujahideen Manzoor Ahmad Malik was killed by security forces at Sumbal in north Kashmir last night.