Srinagar (TIP)- Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Ashraf Molvi and his two associates have been killed in an encounter with security forces near the route of the annual Amarnath Yatra, in Jammu & Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Friday,  May 6, police said. Molvi (50), who was on the list of top 10 most-wanted terrorists, was among the oldest surviving terrorists in Kashmir and has been active in south Kashmir since 2013, said an official.

According to the police, a cordon and search operation was launched in the Srichand Top forest area in Pahalgam, on Friday morning following specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area. The official said the search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists fired at the security forces and three terrorists were killed in retaliatory fire. “Ashraf Molvi (one of oldest surviving terrorists of HM terror outfit) along with two other terrorists were killed. Successful operation on the yatra route is a major success for us,” Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar tweeted. Pahalgam serves as one of the base camps for the Amarnath yatra, scheduled to start on June 30 after a gap of two years. It is scheduled to go on till August 11.