The police had released a photo of Zahid Dass on Friday.
Two of three terrorists cornered by security forces at Anantnag in south Kashmir this morning were killed. The third terrorist, believed to be Zahid Dass -- the killer of a six-year-old boy in a terror attack last week -- escaped.
Gunfire broke out early today as security forces tracking the terrorists launched an operation at an orchard near village Waghama based on specific intelligence inputs.
"Two terrorists have been killed but Zahid Dass has managed to escape," said a senior police officer.
Police sources say they had been tracking Zahid Dass since Friday, when a CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawan and a child were killed by terrorists. Based on intel on him and two more terrorists hiding at Waghama village, the police and the army launched a joint operation in the morning.
On Friday, the CRPF jawan was killed when terrorists opened fire on a road opening team near Padshahi Bagh bridge in Bijbehara area in Anantnag. Six-year-old Nihaan Bhat was sleeping in a parked car in the area when he was hit by a bullet. Police say the terrorist was on a bike and opened fire from a pistol. The killing provoked immense anger and condemnation.
Soon after the attack, the police released a photo of Zahid Dass, a terrorist of the radical group Islamic State (ISJK).
Yesterday, security forces killed three terrorists, including a Hizbul Mujahideen member, in Anantnag. With the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Masood Ahmed Bhat, police officers declared Doda district in south Kashmir free of terrorists. Masood was the last surviving terrorist in the district, said the police, declaring a major success in the anti-terror fight.
Kashmir Police Chief Dilbag Singh says over 100 terrorists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir this year. "During the last about five-and-a-half months, over 100 terrorists have been neutralised, out of them 50 plus were from the Hizbul Mujahideen, around 20 from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, 20 from the Jaish-e-Mohammed and the rest from smaller outfits like Al-Badr, Ansar Gazwatul Hind," Mr Singh said on Monday.