Two militants of The Resistance Front (TRF), involved in the killing of a civilian and Probationary Sub-Inspector (SI) of Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP), were killed in two separate encounters in Pulwama and Srinagar Districts of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), reports Daily Excelsior on October 16. On a specific input, Police, Army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in Wahibugh village area in Pulwama District on October 15. “During the search operation, when the suspected house where the militant was hiding, was zeroed-in, repeated offers of surrender were made. But the militant fired indiscriminately at the forces triggering a gun-battle. In the ensuing encounter, one militant identified as Shahid Bashir Sheikh, resident of Habba Kadal, Srinagar was killed and his body retrieved from the site of encounter. We have recovered an AK-47 rifle from the slain militant,” Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir Zone, Vijay Kumar, said. Sheikh had joined TRF recently and was linked with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). Shahid was also involved in the killing of civilian and Power Development Department (PDD) employee Muhammad Shafi Dar of Batamaloo in Srinagar. The other gun battle took place in Batamaloo area of Srinagar, based on a specific input by Police about the presence of a militant at Hamdaniya Colony Bemina area of Srinagar. “During the search operation, the hiding militant was asked to surrender but he fired at the forces triggering an encounter. In the ensuing encounter, one militant identified as Tanzeel Ahmed, a resident of Haba Kadal, Srinagar was killed”, the IGP said, adding that the slain Tanzeel was involved in the killing of Probationary SI Arshid Ashraf at Khanyar in Srinagar on September 12. IGP Kumar said that Shahid and Tanzeel were also “collaborators in recent killings of a chemist and two teachers in the city.”