Five Killed In J & K, Blast Rocks Anantnag

Unidentified gunmen shot dead five people, including two former militants, as a powerful explosion rocked Achabal in Anantnag district.

Militants torched two houses in Jammu and Kashmir since Saturday evening.s Troops captured five militants of three different pro-Pakistan outfits and recovered a big cache of arms and ammunition during continued anti-militant campaign in the valley during the period.

A powerful bomb went off inside a parked state road transport corporation (SRTC) bus at Achabal bus stand around 1200 hours today, an official spokesman said. No one was injured in the explosion though the vehicle was damaged, he said.

Reports reaching here from the site of the blast said the explosion, suspected to be triggered by militants, rocked the area and caused panic among people who ran helter skelter following the loud blast.

Another explosion took place in the compound of the house of Sajad Hussain Shah at Bhandari Mohalla in Kishtwar area of Doda district on Saturday. However, no damage was caused, he added.

He said militants kidnapped and later shot dead two persons, Gawhar Ali, a government teacher, and Nazir Ahmad Hajam in their native village at Dool in the same district on Saturday.

The spokesman said the bullet-riddled body of a surrendered militant, Abdul Majid Wani, was recovered from his village at Ladhoo-Batpora in Pulwama district on Saturday evening.

The victim was reportedly shot dead by militants.

Militants also shot dead a released militant of Hizbul Mujahideen, Mohammad Yousuf Bhat, in his house at Mahend-Bijbehara in Anantnag district on Saturday night, he said.

He said police picked up body the of one Habibullah Reshi at Dadigam-Pahoo in Pulwama district on Saturday.

Reshi was hanged to death by unidentified militants.

The spokesman said militants torched two residentiall houses of a particular community at Waterkani in frontier district of Kupwara on Saturday evening, causing damage to the property.

Earlier, a defence ministry spokesman, while giving details of the anti-militant operations carried out by the army in Kashmir valley since yesterday evening, said five activists of different pro-Pakistan militant outfits were arrested and a big cache of arms and ammunition were seized from militant hideouts.