The gunbattle took place at Kellar in Shopian, in which Zahid and two other terrorists were killed.
Three terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen were killed in a gun-battle with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, the police have said. Those killed included Zahid, the chief recruiter of the Hizbul Mujahideen in the Kashmir Valley, reported Press Trust of India, quoting an official. The other two have been identified as Irfan and Ashif.
The gunbattle at Kellar area in Shopian, around 50 km from Srinagar, had started this afternoon. Security forces said the terrorists had holed up in two buildings in a residential area. The operation was carried out by the police, army and the CRPF.
This was the second big encounter in Kashmir today. Earlier, Khalid, a top terrorist of Jaish-e-Mohammad, was killed in north Kashmir's Baramulla district. He was believed to have plotted a series of suicide attacks in Kashmir, including one last week near the Srinagar airport, in which a soldier was killed.
Sources say the forces managed to track down Khalid after a he visited a girlfriend. A woman he was romantically involved with told the police that he was likely to visit her this morning.
Senior police officer Munir Khan said over the years, the Jaish has emerged as a bigger threat than the Lashkar-e-Taiba as it has repeatedly targeted high-value security installations.
Last month, a terrorist was caught during an encounter that in Shopian - a first in recent years. Two other terrorists were killed. Police said the terrorist, Adil, was 17 and had joined the group in May.