Srinagar: A senior commander of Hizbul Mujahideen was killed in an ongoing operation by police in a locality in downtown Srinagar this afternoon (May 6, 2004), official sources said.

The deceased, identified as Gazi Shahabuddin, was killed after a brief encounter with a joint search party of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Ganzkhud locality, they said.

Security forces had launched a search operation following specific information about presence of two militants in a house in the locality, they said.

Seeing the security forces, militants opened fire triggering a gunbattle, they said adding that the operation as still on.