Soldier killed, two injured and HM commander arrested in J and K

Baramulla, Jan 16 (UNI) A soldier was killed and two others wounded an encounter at Handwara in the frontier district of Kupwara while elswhere in Jammu and Kashmir a Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander was arrested overnight.

Official sources said troops of 21 Rashitriya Rifles and Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police launched a joint operation at Sazmulla, about 25 km from Handwara in north Kashmir this morning.

As the security forces were sealing the area, militants opened fire. The fire was returned and in the encounter, two soldiers and one Special Police Officer (SPO) were injured.

One of the soldiers later died in the hospital.

The militants managed to escape, they said.

An official spokesman said police arrested Maqbool Ahmad Bhat alias Tariq alias Altaf Sheikh, a self styled District Commander of HM in Baramulla.

He said Bhat was involved in the killing of four police personnel and two civilians, including a doctor.

UNI