Top Hizbul Mujahideen militant killed in shootout

Burhan Muzaffar Wani, the “new-age” poster boy of militancy in Kashmir, and two of his aides were killed in a fierce two-and-a-half-hour encounter with security forces in Kokernag area of Kashmir’s southern Anantnag district on Friday. Wani carried a cash reward of Rs 1 million on his head. A policeman, Shamusuddin, was injured in the clash, reports said.

Internet services on mobile phones and via dongles are likely to be suspended “as a precautionary measure”, official sources here said.

Security force officials described Wani’s killing as a “spectacular” win against separatist militants in Jammu and Kashmir and said it would have a demoralising impact on the rebels.