Hizbul operational commander Yasin Itoo killed in encounter

SRINAGAR: In a jolt to Hizbul Mujahideen, its three militants including divisional operational commander Yasin Itoo, alias ‘Gaznavi’, were killed in an encounter — which also claimed the lives of two armymen — in Shopian district of South Kashmir.

J&K police chief SP Vaid described the killing of Itoo as a “great success” and commended the police force for the “successful” operation. Itoo was one of the senior-most Hizb militants active in Kashmir and was designated divisional commander after Burhan Wani was killed last year.

The encounter started on Saturday evening in Zainpora area of Shopian, when a joint team of Rashtriya Rifles, CRPF and special operations group of the J&K police launched a cordon and search operation in the area. Militants opened fire at security forces, triggering an encounter, which continued till Sunday morning. Four armymen were injured in the initial gun battle at the encounter site.


The other two killed militants have been identified as Sheikh Irfan ul Haq and Umar Majid Sheikh of Yaripora. The two armymen who lost their lives are sepoy Ilayaraja P of Tamil Nadu and sepoy Gawai Sumedh Waman of Maharashtra.