OCCUPIED SRINAGAR: Indian government forces martyred the leader of occupied Kashmir's largest group on Sunday, authorities said.

Hizbul Mujahideen leader Saifullah Mir -- also known as Musaib and Doctor Saif, as he treated fighters injured in encounters with Indian forces -- was martyred in a gun battle in the Rangreth area of occupied Srinagar near the main airport, police said. One of his associates was captured alive, they added.

"The militant killed in the gunfight is Hizbul Mujahideen's chief operational commander Dr Saifullah," Vijay Kumar, inspector general of police in occupied Kashmir, told reporters at the site of the encounter. "It's really a very big achievement." Mir replaced former Hizbul Mujahideen chief Riyaz Naikoo, who was martyred by government forces in the southern occupied Kashmir valley during a two-day gun battle in May.