Zakir Musa trapped during encounter in South Kashmir

Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was trapped on Thursday after security forces launched a cordon and search operation in a village in Tral of South Kashmir, official said.

Reports about Musa's death had started circulating on social media during the encounter, but senior police officials maintained that firing was still on and the trapped militants, believed to be two in number, were still firing and hurling grenades.

Director General of Police Dilbagh Singh said, "The firing is still on. We will be able to give the identity of the militants only after the encounter ends."

The officials said that the gunfight broke out at Dadsara village after the terrorists tried to escape the cordon.

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They said efforts were made to make them surrender but the request fell on deaf ears and the holed up terrorists started launching grenades through a launcher.

The officials confirmed the presence of Musa at the encounter site and said more security forces were rushed to the area to prevent the terrorists from escaping under the cover of darkness.

In the meantime, Jammu and Kashmir police announced restrictions in some areas of Pulwama, Awantipora, Srinagar, Anantnag and Budgam as a precautionary measure, they said.

The officials said the decision was made keeping in view the Friday prayer gatherings.

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