Hizbul Mujahideen chief operational commander Dr Saifullah has been killed during an encounter with police and security forces at Rangreth in Jammu and Kashmir's Srinagar district on Sunday, officials said.

Saifullah had taken over as the chief of Hizbul Mujahideen after the killing of Riyaz Naikoo in May. A top police officer said the operation was based on hard intelligence generated by the police.