Sanjha Morcha

2 ex-engg students among 3 ultras killed Among slain possibly a Hyderabad resident; police verifying Islamic State link

2 ex-engg students among 3 ultras killed
Security personnel stand guard in Srinagar. Amin War

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, March 12

Three militants, two of them former engineering students and another suspected to be a resident of Hyderabad, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the wee hours of Monday in the Hakoora area of Anantnag district, some 70 km south of Srinagar city.The militants are suspected to be linked to a local unit of the Islamic State even as the police said they were investigating the previous claims made by the global militant group based in Iraq and Syria.Two of the slain militants have been identified as Syed Owais of Kokernag in Anantnag district and Eisa Fazili, a resident of Soura in Srinagar. “The identity of the third militant is being ascertained,” said Inspector General of Police SP Pani.While the police maintained that the identity of the third militant was being ascertained, unverified claims on the social media identified him as a resident of Hyderabad. It identified him as Abu Zarr al-Hindi, alias Sultan al-Hyderabad.According to the police, the militants were traced to Badasgam village of the Hakoora area in Anantnag district about midnight on Sunday.Hakoora is located some 10 km from Anantnag town. “There were specific inputs regarding the movement of these militants,” a senior police official from Anantnag said.The official said the militants who were hiding in a house sensed trouble as a cordon was being laid and tried to escape by firing.“The fire was retaliated triggering an encounter, resulting in the killing of the three militants in an open paddy field,” the official said.Local sources said there was intense firing sometime after midnight and then again at 2 am after a lull. “No one ventured outside as the firing continued. In the morning, we got to know that the militants had been killed in a nearby paddy field,” a source said.Bodies of the two local militants were handed over to their families after medico-legal formalities.A complete shutdown was observed in Srinagar and Anantnag districts as the news of the killings spread and the mobile Internet speed was curtailed and train services were suspended by the authorities.Thousands, meanwhile, reached Soura in Srinagar and Vailoo village in the Kokernag area to participate in the funerals of Fazili and Owais. Intense clashes erupted in Vailoo when security forces used tearsmoke shells to disperse the mourners. The clashes continued for the better part of the day.Both local militants Owais and Fazili had pursued B-Technology from Baba Ghulam Shah Badshah University in Rajouri district, but had left the course midway.

Shutdown observed

A complete shutdown was observed in Srinagar and Anantnag districts on Monday as the news of the killings spread and the mobile Internet speed was curtailed and train services were suspended by the authorities