In a statement, police said Zeenat-ul-Islam, 31, who was also an IED expert, was killed along with his accomplice Shakeel Ahmad Dar. The slain militants were from Shopian district.

The statement said Zeenat had a “long history of terror crimes” since 2006. It added he was earlier affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen. Zeenat allegedly helped militants as an over ground worker before his arrest in 2008. He got married upon his release in 2010 before joining LeT in 2015. He then switched to the HM.

Zeenat is believed to have been behind a 2017 ambush in which three soldiers were killed.

HIZBUL MILITANT ARRESTED IN SHOPIAN Police of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir in a joint operation have arrested an alleged Hizbul Mujahideen militant and apprehended a juvenile in Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district.

Police said the two militants were in touch with Naveed Babu, a policeman who turned militant and heads the outfit as its “area commander”. The duo was allegedly trying to establish a contact in Delhi NCR for a regular supply of weapons here, police said.

Kifayatullah Bukhari, 22, a resident of Shopian and his accomplice were picked up from near Narwaw village, said deputy commissioner of police (special cell) Pramod Kushwah.

“After receiving inputs last week, we had been working on identifying a module that is ISISinspired, and was trying to procure weapons from north Indian states. We learnt that the terror module was also strengthening itself in J&K and trying to expand their activities in Delhi and nearby areas,” the DCP said.

On Friday, tracing the movement of the suspects, a trap was laid and Bukhari was arrested. He is a school drop-out and used to work for a transport company. The 22-year-old had recently applied for a visa to Pakistan, to undergo “militancy training ”. The juvenile is a student of a madarsa, police added.

“A pistol and 14 cartridges were seized from them. They were in contact with Naved Mustaq, 30, alias Naveed Babu, a resident of Nazneenpora in Shopian. Babu had joined J&K Police in 2012 as a constable before he joined the militant group in 2017,” Kushwah said.

A case has been filed in Jammu and Kashmir and the state police are probing into the matter.