Kashmir: Top Hizb commander Riyaz Naikoo killed in encounter

Srinagar: A top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, on the run for eight years, was on Wednesday killed in an encounter with security forces in a village in Kashmir’s Pulwama district.

The militant, Riyaz Naikoo, 35, was the senior most active commander in Kashmir and had taken over reins of the banned terror outfit following death of Burhan Wani, the poster boy of militancy in the Valley, in July 2016.

As precautionary measures, mobile internet services were suspended and strict restrictions imposed on the movement of people.

A police spokesperson said earlier in the morning that a top terrorist commander along with an accomplice was trapped in an encounter but did not reveal his identity.

Later in the day, officials disclosed that the man in their sights was Naikoo, who carries a reward of Rs 12 lakh. They had been looking for him for eight years.

Naikoo had managed to escape the police dragnet thrice in Shopian in south Kashmir.