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Pro-India militant chief killed

Mukhtar Ahmad in Srinagar

The chief of Ikhwanul Muslemoon, a top pro-India militant outfit, and an associate was killed in a mine blast at Rakhe Asham in northern Barramulla this afternoon.

Meanwhile, life in and around the city centre of Lal Chowk was affected by a spontaneous strike against the riot by policemen yesterday. Shops remained closed and little traffic plied the area. Police personnel ran amuck yesterday, torching parked cars, autorickshaws and shops, after militants killed two Border Security Force personnel and a policeman in the city Centre. Security was tightened in the area today.

A senior police officer said Fayaz Mir, chief of the pro-government Ikhwanul Muslemoon, was killed along with an associate identified as Mohammad Shafi Bahar in a powerful mine blast this afternoon at Asham in north Kashmir.

He said Mir's car hit a powerful landmine, which exploded, extensively damaging the car. Two close associates of the Ikhwan commander who were critically wounded in the blast have been rushed to Srinagar. Senior police and security force officers rushed to the spot along with reinforcements.

The area is the strong hold of counter-insurgent-turned-politician and sitting MLA Kuka Parray. Earlier, militants have killed scores of pro-government militants at various places in the valley.

Officials said Mir's death was a serious setback to counter-insurgency operations in the Valley. In Bamloora in the nearby Ganderbal area, one Ali Mohammad, a civilian, was critically wounded in a powerful blast.

In another incident in the city, BSF commandos came under fire in Bemina market. They returned fire, killing two persons.

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