Hizbul commander Burhan Wani killed in gunbattle

Srinagar: In a major success for security forces, the poster boy of Hizbul Mujahideen, Burhan Wani, was killed in an encounter at Kokernag area, 83 kms from Srinagar, along with two of his local accomplices. 21-year-old Burhan, who shot to fame after his videos asking youth in Kashmir to join militancy appeared on social media, was cornered in Bumdoora village of Kokernag this morning by a joint team of police and army, official sources said. His last video had appeared on the social network after the killing of three policemen at Anantnag in South Kashmir last month in which he had threatened to carry out more attacks. Burhan, who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, is believed to have taken up the gun to avenge his elder brother’s humiliation by the security forces who made him do squats after picking him up for no crime. Innumerable images of Burhan and posts extolling him were uploaded on social networking sites such as Facebook which the security agencies had got removed but that did not erase his popularity. Others killed along with him were Sartaz, who is a resident of Kokernag area and believed to have carried out several attacks on police in South Kashmir. The identity of the third was yet to be ascertained.