Meanwhile, terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen named its new commander after Yaseen Itoo was killed on Saturday
Four security personnel were injured today in a grenade attack by terrorists in central Kashmir's Budgam district, police said.
Terrorists hurled a grenade at a road opening party of CRPF and police at Batpora in Magam area, 20 kilometres from here, a police official said.
He said three CRPF personnel and one policeman were injured in the grenade blast.
The injured personnel have been admitted to SKIMS Medical College hospital at Bemina here.
The attack came amidst stringent security arrangements across Kashmir valley for tomorrow's Independence Day celebrations.
Meanwhile, terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen today named Mohammad bin Qasim as its "field operational commander" in Kashmir in place of Yaseen Itoo who was killed yesterday in a fierce gunbattle with security forces in Shopian district.
Qasim was made the new commander of Hizb at a meeting of the outfit's command council chaired by Syed Salahuddin in Muzaffarabad (in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), a spokesman of the outfit said in a statement.
Salahuddin said the high number of killings of militants in encounters were because of "traitors" and "Indian agents".
Itoo, alias 'Gaznavi', and his two associates were killed yesterday in an encounter that began on Saturday night in Awnira village of Shopian district in south Kashmir.
In the encounter, two armymen were also killed and three others, including a Major, were injured.
Itoo, who hailed from Budgam district of central Kashmir, had a long association with Hizbul Mujahideen and was responsible for keeping alive the prolonged unrest of 2016 following the killing of group's commander Burhan Wani in an encounter with security forces on July 8.
He had also played key role in recruiting several young men into the outfit, according to the police.
Itoo had joined Hizbul Mujahideen in 1996 but had surrendered in 2007 and was later released on parole in 2014.
Subsequently, he had joined the militant group again and was its self-styled chief operations commander.
Along with him, the security forces killed Umar Majeed, who hailed from Shopian, and Irfan, a tech-savvy militant involved in online propaganda for the militant outfit
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