He was appointed successor of Wani after the latter was killed by the security forces in July, 2016. The security forces quickly laid siege to the two houses in Saimoh village where the militants had been hiding. Authorities are struggling to prevent a repeat of the 2016 unrest, which was triggered by the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani in July. "The bodies of Sabzar Bhat and his accomplice identified as Faizan Ahmad have been retrieved and identified", police said. As soon as the news about the gunfight spread to neighbouring villages, several protesters marched to the site of the incident and pelted stones at the security forces.

Source: India Today May 27, 2017 16:43 UTC