Hours after suspected Hizbul Mujahideen militants killed three policemen in Srinagar, a top Jamait-ul-Mujahideen (JuM) commander and a militant were killed during a gunfight with security personnel on Monday night in Srinagar.
The encounter took place in the busy Maharaja Bazar locality of Srinagar after information was tipped to security forces about the presence of militants in the area, the Times of India reported.
The city has been on a high alert since Monday after two successive attacks on J&K police personnel in the heart of the city resulted in the death of three policemen. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh paid tributes to the three slain policemen on Monday.
"Two militants were killed in the encounter. One of the slain militants has been identified as Saifullah, a Pakistani national who was commander of Jamait-ul-Mujahideen, the others identity is being established," a police official was quoted by the TOI as saying.
The Police has not yet confirmed whether the militants killed were the ones that carried out the attacks on Monday. The attack that killed the three policemen broke a peaceful lull of three years in the J&K's summer capital.
Former Chief Minister,Omar Abdullah has urged the state government to ensure that the residents and tourists in Srinagar are safe in the wake of fresh incidents of violence. He called the militant attacks a worrying development.
The State Legislative Assembly is due to meet on May 25 for the first time after Mehbooba Mufti took over as the chief minister of the state.
The fresh attacks may have an impact on the debate about the revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which is likely to take place in the forthcoming Assembly session in Srinagar.
J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti pays tribute to 3 policemen who lost their lives in terrorist attacks in Srinagar today pic.twitter.com/9f5MLUsTyU
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 23, 2016
