Top Jaish commander killed in Shopian encounter

A top commander of Jaish-e-Muhammad was killed in Shopian along with another militant in an encounter with security forces on Monday. The Jaish commander was identified as Sajad Afghani, sources said.

The encounter started on Sunday after security forces received information about the presence of militants at Rawalpora village.

As the security forces launched a search operation in the village, they came under fire from hiding militants. In the ensuing encounter, one militant was killed before the operation was suspended due to nightfall.

IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar congratulated the security forces who took part in the operation. Police sources said the killing of Afghani is a big setback to Jaish and militancy in south Kashmir.

They said he was a key commander of the group and was motivating youth to join militancy. Meanwhile, internet was suspended in Shopian as a precautionary measure.