A militant from an Islamic State-inspired group was killed in a gun battle with security forces in south Kashmir’s Shopian district on Friday, police officials said.

The slain militant, identified as Ishfaq Ahmad Sofi alias Umar, belonged to the Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), police claimed.

So far, the central government and security agencies have maintained that there is no connection between ISJK and the terror outfit, Islamic State that operates in Iraq and Syria. In February, Union minister, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, had said in a written reply in Lok Sabha that “seven local youths have joined ISJK through “self-proclamation”. Of these, four terrorists were killed on June 22, 2018 at Anantnag, two were held and one is currently active in the Valley”.

“He [Sofi] died as a member of ISJK. We can’t say [whether] he was the last member of the group [or not],” said Atul Kumar Goel, deputy inspector general of police, south Kashmir.

The gun battle took place at Ram Nagri area of Herpora in south Kashmir’s Shopian, police said. Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, was recovered from Sofi. A resident of Sopore, Sofi was trapped in a hideout in Ram Nagri after security forces launched an operation based on intelligence input. “During the search operation, the terrorists...fired on the search party. It was retaliated... the terrorist was killed,” said a police spokesman.