Qaeda-linked outfit’s chief amongst seven militants killed in J&Okay

AT LEAST seven militants, together with the chief of the Al-Qaeda affiliated militant outfit Ansar Gazwat ul Hind (AGH), had been killed in two separate encounters in South Kashmir on Friday, in line with J&Okay Police.
While AGH chief Imtiyaz Shah was killed together with one other militant throughout an encounter at a hideout inside an orchard in Tral space of Pulwama, 5 others had been killed in an in a single day encounter at a mosque the place they had been hiding in Shopian, police mentioned.
IG (Kashmir Zone) Vijay Kumar advised reporters at a press convention in Srinagar that of the 5 militants killed in Shopian, two had been affiliated to the Hizbul-ul-Mujahideen, one to the Lashkar-e-Toiba and two others to the AGH.

“We had sent in a militant’s brother urging him to surrender last night, after sending the imam of the mosque where they were hiding. This morning, we sent his parents but still he refused to surrender,” IG Kumar mentioned.
Subsequently, he mentioned, the “forces resorted to tear smoke shelling inside the mosque and fired through the window, trying not to damage the mosque”. Three civilians and not less than 4 safety personnel had been injured in the course of the encounter.
Among the 5 militants killed, 4 have been recognized as Shopian residents, Muzamil Manzoor, Adil Ahmad Lone and Basik Ismaiel Bakshi, and Tral resident Younis Ahmad Khanday. The identification of the fifth militant is being ascertained, police mentioned.
In the Tral encounter, the second militant killed has been recognized as Zahid Ahmed Koka, a resident of Shopian.
“Seven AK-47 rifles and two pistols were recovered from the site of the encounters. With these two encounters, and the elimination of the seven terrorists, the group AGH has been fully wiped out once again,” J&Okay Police DGP, Dilbag Singh, advised The Indian Express.
IG Kumar mentioned that Shah, who was an lively militant since July 2019, was tasked with attacking the Amarnath Yatra on the nationwide freeway. “It is a soft target but we will make sure that the security arrangements for the yatra are foolproof,” he mentioned.
15 Corps Commander Lt General D P Pandey and GOC Victor Force Maj General Rashim Bali had been additionally current on the press convention together with Kumar. “This year, recruitment figures are less and I am sure the way security forces and civil administration are working here, recruitment will decrease in the coming years. We will provide them with the opportunity to surrender but anyone who picks arms against the state will be neutralised,” Lt Gen Pandey mentioned.

With the 2 encounters, the variety of militants killed in 2021 has reached 31, together with 28 within the south Kashmir area. Meanwhile, 138 militant associates, or over floor employees, have been arrested thus far, as per official knowledge.
Responding to queries on the declare that the AGH has been worn out, the IG mentioned: “As of now, there is only one active AGH member but it is difficult to say whether he will continue to be here or move to a different outfit.”