Shopian, J&K:
Two days before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the Kashmir Valley, security forces in the state killed a regional commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen.
Police say the terror group was meeting not far from where Singh will address a rally on Wednesday.
In a gun battle that lasted six hours in Kellar area of Shopian, the police and the Army have killed Saqib, the regional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. Two of his associates also died in the encounter. The Army had received a tip-off about a meeting of the terror group.
NDTV: Does it have to do anything with Prime Minister holding a public rally in South Kashmir in a couple of days?
Farooq Ahmad, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir: Otherwise what was the purpose of their meeting at such a time and hide out in such a place? We had been tracking them for some time but this meeting was significant as far as the forthcoming VVIP visit is concerned.
Shopian in south Kashmir is about 40 km from Ananatnag, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will address a rally on Wednesday.
The Army has been on a high alert, not only because VVIP visits in the Valley are terror targets, more so because intelligence agencies in Delhi say Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin has asked his men to step up violence in the Valley. For the PM's visit, more than the wait, it's the watch!