Hizbul guerrilla killed in Kashmir gunfight

Srinagar, March 20 : A separatist guerrilla of the Hibul Mujahideen was killed while an army officer sustained minor injuries in an ongoing gunfight between holed-up guerrillas and the security forces in south Kashmir's Pulwama district Saturday afternoon, officials said.

"Parvaiz Ahmad alias Musharaf, the district commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, has been killed so far in the gunfight between the security forces and the holed-up terrorists in Batapora village," a defence spokesman said here.

The spokesman added that another guerrilla was still firing at the security forces surrounding the village.

An officer of the Rashtriya Rifles sustained minor injuries in the gunfight that started in the afternoon after troops of the Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the local police surrounded a house in Batapora village of the district, 35 km from here, following specific information about the presence of a group of guerrillas there.