The police had released a photo of Zahid Dass on Friday.

Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir):

Two of three terrorists cornered by security forces at Anantnag in south Kashmir this morning have been killed, the police said. One of the terrorists trapped by the forces was believed to be Zahid Dass, the killer of a six-year-old boy shot dead along with a CRPF jawan in a terror attack last week.

Gunfire broke out early today as security forces tracking the terrorists launched an operation at a village, Waghama, based on specific intelligence inputs.

“A fierce encounter is ongoing. Two terrorists have been killed so far,” said Vijay Kumar, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir.

On Friday, a jawan of the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and six-year-old Nihaan Bhat were killed when terrorists opened fire on a road opening team near Padshahi Bagh bridge in Bijbehara area in Anantnag.

Little Nihaan Bhat was sleeping in a parked car when he was hit by a bullet. Police say the terrorist was on a bike and opened fire from a pistol. The killing provoked immense anger and condemnation.

Soon after the attack, the police had released a photo of Zahid Dass, a terrorist of the radical group Islamic State (ISJK).

#Police has identified #killer of minor boy and CRPF personnel. Zahid Daas , a #terrorist of JKIS outfit, is found to be involved in today’s attack at #Bijbehara. Police has registered FIR against him by name. @JmuKmrPolicepic.twitter.com/qNRn2qSaDn

— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) June 26, 2020

Police sources say they had been tracking Zahid Dass since the Friday attack. Based on intel about him and two more terrorists hiding at Waghama village, the police and the army launched a joint operation.

Yesterday, security forces killed three terrorists, including a Hizbul Mujahideen member, in Anantnag. With the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Masood Ahmed Bhat, police officers declared Doda district in south Kashmir free of terrorists. Masood was the last surviving terrorist in the district, said the police, declaring a major success in the anti-terror fight.

Kashmir Police Chief Dilbag Singh says over 100 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir this year. “During the last about five-and-a-half months, over 100 terrorists have been neutralised, out of them 50 plus were from the Hizbul Mujahideen, around 20 from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, 20 from the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the rest from smaller outfits like Al-Badr, Ansar Gazwatul Hind,” Mr Singh said on Monday.