J&K: Journalist Shujaat Bukhari's killer among six terrorists killed in encounter in Anantnag

Six militants were on Friday killed in an encounter with security forces in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

An army official said exchange of fire between security forces and militants began in the early hours in Bijbehara area of the district.

Six militants were killed in the operation and weapons were recovered from the spot, he said.

One of the terrorists wanted in the killing of prominent journalist and Rising Kashmir's editor Shujaat Bukhari was also killed in an encounter.

Police have identified them as Azad Malik, Unais Shafi, Shahid Bashir, Basit Ishtiyaq, Aqib Najar and Firdous Najar. Azad Malik was one of the attackers who killed Bukhari.

Bukhari and his two personal security officers (PSOs) were shot dead by terrorists outside the newspaper's office in the heart of Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital on June 14.

The journalist was the brother of Bashrat Ahmed Bukhari, who was a minister in Mehbooba Mufti government. Bukhari was the fourth journalist to be killed by militants in the nearly three-decade-long violence in Kashmir.

Earlier police had said that there was tangible evidence to establish that the conspiracy to kill  Bukhari was hatched by Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) in Pakistan and three cadres of the banned outfit including Naveed Jatt had executed the plan.