Unrest returns to valley after Sabzar Ahmad Bhat's killing, One civilian dead

Bhat was killed along with killed five other suspected militants who were allegedly trying to infiltrate into the valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

In the protests across the valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, one civilian was killed and several others were injured in Kashmir on Saturday.

Bhat was killed along with killed five other suspected militants who were allegedly trying to infiltrate into the valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The Army in a media briefing said they tracked the infiltrators and laid an ambush to neutralise them.

"Our boys and our surveillance devices have tracked their movement continuously. But due to thick forest the surveillance was very difficult. But continuous tracking of the area around the LoC yielded results. Last evening we were able to spot the entire group of infiltrating terrorists. We then laid the ambush at selected place when it was confirmed that would take a particular route. When the light was fading the group appeared. We wanted to get the entire group," an Army official told media.

The official said the search operation was still underway and more details will be made available after the completion of the operation.

"When they appeared, we engaged them. After sometime we were able to eliminate all of them, they were of foreign origin. We recovered a lot of things like food, medicines and other things. The search operation is still in progress," he added.

The government cut off mobile internet as a precautionary measure as the protests spread to capital Srinagar where people rushed to stock fuel fearing prolonged violence.

A successor of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, Sabzar Bhat, was one of the six militants killed in an encounter in Kashmir's Tral Saturday morning.

A spontaneous shutdown was observed in most parts of the Valley as violence erupted at more than 50 places in the wake of killing of Bhat, a police official said.

OneIndia News