Jammu, Nov 15: A Special Police Officer (SPO) was killed when a Hizbul Mujahideen militant managed to escape during an encounter in dense forests of Dachan area of Kishtwar district, sources said on Tuesday.
 They said that the gun battle started when teams of Special Operations Group (SOG) of police and 17 Rashtriya Rifles launched a joint operation at Siver Bati area in Dacchan this morning.
 The operation, they said, was launched following inputs about the presence of Hizb operations commander Muhammad Amin Bhat alias Jahangir. “Forces cordoned off the entire forest area and launched a hunt for the militant,” they said.
 When the searches were in progress, sources said the holed up militant opened fire on the forces killing SPO Bilal Ahmad on the spot.
 After the killing, both sides exchanged heavy fire for over an hour but the militant managed to flee from the spot.
 Police said the Hizb commander is believed to have been accompanied by another militant who provided cover fire to enable him to break the cordon.
 Jehangir, the oldest surviving HM militant in the area, is wanted in the Delhi High Court blast case. The National Investigating Agency had announced Rs 10 lakh reward for information about him.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 15 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 IST