Srinagar: A complete shutdown is being observed in parts of Bandipora district of northern Kashmir for the fifth consecutive day against the killing of five militants in a gunfight near Shokbaba village of Sumlar.

Reports said that all the shops and business establishments are shut in several parts of the district while a very thin traffic movement was visible on the roads.

The gunfight that began late Friday continued for three days. On the first day, two militants were killed. Three more militants were killed the next day. Police sources said that the militants were foreigners and were buried in Gantmulla, Baramulla.

However, on Monday, militant outfit Hizb ul-Mujahideen issued a statement and claimed that the militants killed in Bandipora gunfight were locals.

Hizb spokesperson Burhanuddin told a local news gathering agency that those killed in the gunfight were locals. “It was a group comprising five members who got trapped in Sumlar area and were killed in a long gunfight,” Burhanuddin said.

He identified them as Hyder Ali from Brazul Kulgam, Muhammad Umar from Shopian, Muhammad Sidiq from Bandipora, Mawiya from Kangan and Usman from Lolab.