Jamiat-e-Ahli Hadees chief Maulana Shaukat Ahmad Shah was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast outside a mosque in Maisuma area of Srinagar in Indian occupied Kashmir (IoK) on Friday.

Shah, who was critically injured in the explosion which took place around 12.30 pm, was rushed to a city hospital where he succumbed to injuries, they said.

Another youth, identified as Munir Ahmad Mir, was also critically injured in the blast.

Although the exact cause of the explosion is being investigated, police suspect that militants have used an IED planted on a bicycle near the rear entrance of the mosque where Shah used to lead the Friday prayers.