Srinagar, Aug 29 (PTI): Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants including its commander Altaf Ahmed Dar alias Altaf Kachroo, one of the oldest surviving terrorist, were killed on Wednesday in South Kashmir's Anantnag district, police said.

Jammu & Kashmir police along with other security forces launched the search operation at Muniward village of Khanabal area in the district at the crack of the dawn, a spokesman of the police said that based on a specific intelligence,.

“During the searches, terrorists fired on the search party, which was retaliated leading to an encounter and in the ensuing encounter two terrorists were eliminated. The killed terrorists were identified as Altaf Ahmad Dar alias Ataf Kachroo alias Moin of Hawoora Mishipora and Omar Rashid Wani of Khudwani Kulgam,” the spokesman said.

He said Dar, who also hails from Kulgam in South Kashmir, was currently operating as a one of the most important terrorist Commander of proscribed terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen and had a long history of criminal records since 2007.

“It was a specific operation carried out swiftly by the security forces. In the action both terrorists, who were involved in several cases of civilian atrocities and attacks on policemen, were eliminated,” Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range) Swayam Prakash Pani said here.

Considered as a long time surviving terrorist in the area, Dar was involved in series of terror crimes in the area which included attacks on the security forces and killings of civilians and policemen in South Kashmir.

One of the police officials, who was involved in the operation, described him as a 'chief architect' of attacks on policemen.

The police spokesman said that Dar along with his associate Yasin Itoo played a major role in instigating people during 2016 unrest which was sparked after the death of Hizbul Mujahideen's poster boy Burhan Wani.

The other militant killed in the encounter was Omar Rashid Wani, who had become active since last year.

The spokesman said he was involved in many civilian atrocities and attacks on security establishments.

Wani was also involved in killing of policemen at Anantnag and recently he carried an attack on CRPF in Srinagar and managed to give a slip during the recent Batmaloo encounter site.

The spokesman said though the two were part of the Hizbul Mujahideen terror group, they managed to keep close coordination with other outfit for unleashing terror.