Mohammad Youssuf Parray alias Kuka Parray, a top counter-insurgent, was killed by militants in an ambush at Hajan in north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Saturday afternoon, police said.

A close associate of Parray and another aide of his were also killed in the attack. Four others, including Parray's three police guards, were injured.

From Rediff Archives: An exclusive interview with Kuka Parray 

Sources said a hand grenade was lobbed at Parray's car followed by a flurry of firing from automatic weapons by a group of militants.

Parray and his associates were rushed to an a army hospital, where the counter-insurgent and his closest aide -- Mohammad Akram -- were declared brought dead. Ali Mohammad Dar, another aide of Parray, succumbed to injuries later.

Parray was the first counter-insurgent in Kashmir.

A folk singer, he joined militancy in early 1990s. He surrendered to the security forces in 1995 and launched the dreaded Ikhwanul Muslemeen -- a counter-insurgency group.

Parray tried his hand at politics too. He formed the Awami League and was elected in the 1996 assembly election from Hajan.

He, however, lost the election last year.

Police sources said Kuka Parray's body has been taken to his home in Hajan.