Six militants, IAF commando killed in Kashmir gun battle

Six suspected militants and an air force commando were killed yesterday in a fierce gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir which also injured another soldier, the army said.The shootout began when soldiers cordoned off a neighbourhood in the northern area of Hajin after a tip-off that armed militants were hiding there, said army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia.“Six terrorists have been killed in the encounter,” Kalia said.“One IAF (India Air Force) soldier was martyred and another army soldier was injured.”“The slain rebels include some top militant commanders such as Mahmood Bhai from the Lashkar-e-Taiba group,” he said.The LeT is among the major militant outfits operating in Kashmir.Meanwhile, a large number of people yesterday defied curfew-like restrictions imposed by the authorities to attend the funeral of slain militant Mugees Mir who was killed on the outskirts of the main city of Srinagar during a brief shootout.Authorities had imposed restrictions in several areas in Srinagar to maintain law and order.However, people from different parts of the city reached Parimpora area where the slain militant’s funeral was held.Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Mohamed Yasin Malik has been arrested and the authorities shifted him to Srinagar central jail yesterday, in addition to placing Mirwaiz Umer Farooq under house arrest.A sub-inspector of Jammu and Kashmir police, Imran Tak, was also killed in the shootout.Police said Mugees, who originally operated with the LeT, had lately joined the Al Qaeda affiliated group, Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, headed by Zakir Musa.In other developments, former chief minister and National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah yesterday defended his stance for internal autonomy to both parts of divided Kashmir without obliterating the Line of Control (LoC).Abdullah also reiterated his demand for grant of regional autonomy to different regions in Kashmir to assuage the aspirations of people.“J&K is a unique state and needs special dispensation in terms of regional autonomy to satiate the urges of various regions,” he said.Without naming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he clammed the alleged overt and covert attempts being made to weaken Article 370 and said demand of autonomy was within the framework of the Constitution.He said the NC would not allow attempts to repeal Article 35-A.