Commander of banned group killed in Kashmir ‘encounter’

A top commander of a banned terrorist outfit, who was on the run for eight years, was killed today in an "encounter" with security forces in his native village in Kashmir's Pulwama district, officials said.

Riyaz Naikoo, operational commander of the banned group Hizbul Mujahideen, was trapped at Beighpora village in Pulwama, the officials said.

They said Naikoo had a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Naikoo became the de facto chief of the terror group after the death of Burhan Wani, a poster boy of militancy in Kashmir Valley, in July 2016.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir authorities have snapped mobile internet services across the Kashmir Valley as a precautionary measure in anticipation of a possible law and order problem, police said, adding that there are strict restrictions also on the movement of people.