The Kashmir woman had allegedly tipped off security forces about the whereabouts of Zeenat-ul-Islam, who was killed last month.
New Delhi: A 25-year-old woman who allegedly tipped off security forces about the whereabouts of Al-Badr militant Zeenat-ul-Islam, killed in an encounter last month, was shot dead by terrorists in south Kashmir late Thursday night.
In an unprecedented occurrence, the murder of the woman was caught on camera, and the video has since gone viral. In the video, she is seen pleading with the assailants before they open fire. Her body was found in Dragad, Shopian.
The woman, identified by police as Ishrat Muneer of Pulwama, is believed to be a cousin of Zeenat-ul-Islam who lived in the vicinity of his house.
“The woman was killed by militants for allegedly providing information for the elimination of Zeenat-Ul-Islam,” a top police source told ThePrint.
Another theory put forth by locals is that the woman and Islam had been in a relationship, which she ended.
However, police refused to either confirm or deny it.
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‘Sign of frustration’
Calling the killing a dastardly act, a top police official said it was a sign of militants’ frustration at an encounter earlier in the day.
“On Thursday, two militants were killed during daytime and it is out of that frustration that militants are going out and killing women now,” the official added.
“They want to become so called mujahids (those engaged in jihad) while carrying out such terror acts,” he said.
“Islam was married with kids and so was the woman, and she is not here to defend herself,” he added.
“So, the only thing coming out of this is that the militants are resorting to sick means out of frustration.”
Police said in a statement that they had registered a case in connection with Ishrat’s murder and had “some credible leads”.
Zeenat-ul-Islam, one of the longest surviving local militants, was among Kashmir’s three most-wanted terrorists when he was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Katpora area of south Kashmir’s Kulgam district last month.
Considered an improvised explosive device (IED) expert, Zeenat-ul-Islam was believed to have been involved in militancy since 2008.
A key terror recruiter in the Valley, Zeenat-ul-Islam was among the accused in the 23 February 2017 Shopian attack, in which three Army personnel and one civilian woman were killed.
This report has been updated with additional details.