Srinagar: Protests erupted in Gulshan Chowk of Bandipora town of northern Kashmir on Tuesday after a family claimed that one of the slain militants killed in Sumlar gunfight was their son.

Sources said that a family from Kulgam arrived in Bandipora to demand the body of their kin.

They said that the family has claimed Abu Haider as their kin. “Mashooq Ahmad, the elder brother of Bilal Ahmad alias Abu Haider said that he had crossed over the line of control in 2003,” the sources said.

Bilal and four other militants are killed in a gunfight with government forces on Saturday.

Meanwhile, local sources in Bandipora said that a Shopian family is also arriving in the town who have claimed another slain as their kin. “The family is claiming Muhammad Umar as their son,” a local from Bandipora told The Kashmir Press.

The gunfight that began late Friday continued for two days. On the first day, two militants were killed. Three more militants were killed the next day. Police 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.