"Police have busted a sleeper cell of Hizbul Mujahideen functioning illegally under the command of self-styled commander Mohammad Shaheen Baba alias Zaid-bin Tariq," a police spokesman said.
Baba, a resident of Chadoora in central Kashmir's Budgam district, along with other members of the cell had planned to carry out "sensational acts of terror by way of IED blasts", the spokesman said.
"One Chinese pistol with magazine, 25 live rounds, incriminating documents and a mobile phone were seized from the cell members," he said.
"On their (commanders') directions, (he) established the sleeper cell. The group was planning to carry out IED blasts in the Valley especially in Srinagar city," he added.
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The other members of the group have been identified as Mudasir Ahmad Baba alias Auranzaib, Basharat Hussain Baba, Uqab Ahmad Wazir and Manzoor Ahmad, he said.
The spokesman, however, did not specify if any other member of the cell other than Baba had been arrested.