Date:09/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/09/stories/2008040957260100.htm

Front Page

Two Hizb commanders killed in J&K

Jammu: Two top commanders of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen, including its oldest surviving militant, were killed in two gunbattles in Doda and Kishtwar districts on Tuesday, official sources said.

On a tip-off, troops and police launched a search operation in the Pyakul-Batyas area in Doda district on Monday night, the sources told PTI. During the searches, the police and 26 Rastriya Rifles troops zeroed in on a hideout, where a meeting of the United Jehad Council militants was taking place.

Then a fierce encounter took place in which the self-styled divisional commander of the Hizb, Gulam Hassan Wani alias Shamim Thool, was killed. — PTI