Hizbul commander's body recovered in Kashmir

The bullet-riddled body of a Hizbul Mujahideen commander from Kashmir's Tangmarg area was recovered on Saturday, police said.

"The bullet-riddled body of Fayaz Ahmad Bhat, resident of Vailoo (Pattan), was recovered on Saturday in Devbugh village near Tangmarg town," a police official told IANS here.

"He was a commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen and was active for more than six years," he added.

"The body of the slain militant has been taken into possession by police for completion of necessary formalities before it can be handed over to the family for last rites," he added.

Last week, three bullet-riddled bodies of youth were found in an apple orchard in Kashmir's Baramulla district.

While police said the three youth had been killed because of internecine rivalry between the Hizbul Mujaihdeen and its breakaway faction, the Lashkar-e-Islam, Hizbul supreme commander Syed Sallahuddin had, however, said there was no militant outfit known as the Lashkar-e-Islam.