The deputy superintendent of police's arrest has raised questions about the role of collaborators in terror attacks.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition, which includes an AK-47 rifle, magazines, grenades, RPG-7 rocket launcher, was recovered from the encounter site, he said.
A cordon-and-search operation was launched at Rakhama village in the district in the morning following information about the presence of militants in the area, a police spokesperson said.
He was awarded DGP medal and commendation recently for his outstanding contribution.
Constable Saleem Shah was on leave when he was abducted by terrorists.
'It is an unfortunate incident, in which we have lost a brave officer. He was a fighter and he led Sunday's operation himself.'
Within hours of the incident, police arrested the accused and said he was tasked by terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen to carry out the attack.
Defying Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani's diktat to Kashmiris against joining police service in the Valley, thousands of youths have opted for the job of special police officer.
Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist Adil Parray, who was involved in the recent killings of two police personnel, was killed in a 'chance' encounter with a 'small team' of police in Srinagar on Sunday, taking the number of ultras killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the last 24 hours to five.
They were wanted by law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes, including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities.
Four terrorists, including a Pakistani national, were killed in two separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar and Kulgam districts during the past 24 hours, a senior police official said on Sunday.
Constable Mohammad Saleem Shah, who was on leave, was abducted by terrorists from his residence in Mutalhama area of Kulgam in south Kashmir on Friday.
The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday raided a dozen places in Jammu and Kashmir in connection with two cases, one related to the recovery of an IED and another about the recruitment of youth by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba terror outfit, an official said.
The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.
According to a notification issued by the ministry, the JKGF has been involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapon smuggling, terror attacks in the Union territory, and threats to security forces.
Manzoor Ahmad Bangroo was shot at by the ultras at Goshbug in Pattan area officials said, adding he was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Saifullah, who had taken command of the outfit after the killing of Riyaz Naikoo in May this year, was one of the most wanted terrorists in the Kashmir Valley and involved in several attacks on the security forces, an official said.
Authorities had imposed restrictions in parts of Kashmir as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order on the eve of the second death anniversary of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, even as a strike called by separatists evoked mixed response in the Valley.
Ninty-five youth have joined militancy over the last one year in Kashmir where 200 militants are active, a senior police official said on Monday, adding that recent incidents showed criminalization creeping into the ranks of the ultras.
Terrorists on Saturday shot dead a policeman in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said, evoking condemnations from mainstream political parties in the Valley.
Abdul Hamid Najar, a resident of Mohiendpora area of Budgam in central Kashmir, was shot at and critically injured by terrorists in his native village on Sunday, the official said.
A youth was killed in alleged Central Reserve Police Force firing in Kulgam district of Kashmir during protests against Israeli aggression in Gaza Strip on Saturday.
The encounters took place in Pulwama, Ganderbal and Kupwara districts of the Kashmir valley, a police official said.
The encounter began in the afternoon at a village in Kulgam as Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Central Reserve Police Force and the army, were carrying out operations to clear a national highway ahead of the Amarnath Yatra, beginning June 28, a senior police official said.
Shah, 34, was working with the Jammu and Kashmir Police as a Special Police Officer and had been given an out-of-turn promotion and selected as a constable.
Ishfaq Dar alias Abu Akram, was not only responsible for attacks on security forces, but also for civilian killings, police said.
One of the slain terrorists has been identified as Shahbaz Safi Wani alias Rayees Kachru, who was active in the area since June, 2016.
Clashes broke out between supporters of the ruling National Conference and Opposition Peoples Democratic Party on Thursday during filing of nominations by their candidates at Kulgam district election office in south Kashmir, the police said.
Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a high-level meeting on June 3 to discuss the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, the second such exercise in less than a fortnight which comes at a time when terrorists have been carrying out targeted killings in the Valley.
The Hizbul Mujahideen outfit claimed responsibility for the attack.
Both the terrorists, equipped with suicide vests and sophisticated weapons, were killed in the encounter on Friday, averting a major suicide attack in the city.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Laroo area of Kulgam district in south Kashmir following specific information about the presence of terrorists in the area, he said.
The two men arrested are Shahnawaz Ahmad Teli from Kulgam and Aquib Ahmad Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.
Zahid Rasool Bhat, 19, a truck assistant had received 74 per cent burn injuries with another person on October 9 when a Kashmir-bound truck was attacked by a mob protesting against the beef party hosted by an independent MLA in the summer capital of Srinagar.
Most of these new recruits came from Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam districts in South Kashmir, which had become the hub of tech-savvy, young militants.
A Hizbul Mujahideen militant was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of south Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.
According to the order, Singh was awarded Jammu and Kashmir's highest police award in 2018.
In a searing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government, Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut also said that in view of Kashmiri Pandits once again fleeing from the Valley, 'Kashmir Files 2' should be made to show who is responsible for their current plight.
The alarming incident occurred during the funeral of Fayaz Ahmed alias Setha, a resident of Qaimoh area of Kulgam, who was killed in retaliation on Saturday after terrorists had fired upon a police party which had gone to Mir Bazaar area to investigate a road accident.
3 terrorists -- two from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and one from the Hizbul Mujahideen -- were arrested over the past three days.
