SRINAGAR: Indian government forces martyred the leader of held Kashmir’s largest militant group on Sunday, authorities said.
Hizbul Mujahideen leader Saifullah Mir — also known as Musaib and Doctor Saif, as he treated militants injured in encounters with Indian forces — was martyred in a gunbattle in the Rangreth area of Srinagar near the main airport, police said.
One of his associates was captured alive, they added.
Anti-India groups have been fighting for decades for held Kashmir’s independence or its merger with Pakistan, and enjoy broad popular support.
The fighting has left tens of thousands dead, mostly civilians, since 1989.
“The militant killed in the gunfight is Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief operational commander Dr Saifullah,” Vijay Kumar, inspector general of police in held Kashmir, told reporters at the site of the encounter.