Shadow Correspondent
Kulgam, Dec 19 :
At least five terrorists including the longest surviving militant of the Hizbul Mujahideen outfit were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, officials said.
Two security forces personnel sustained injuries in the operation that was launched in the early hours of Thursday, they said. According to a top security agency official, a joint team of security forces including CRPF, Army and Jammu and Kashmir police cordoned off the area and launched a joint search operation on specific information about the presence of militants there.
“Five terrorists neutralized in Kulgam anti-terrorist operation. Identification being ascertained. Search operation continues. Further details shall follow,” Kashmir Zone Police wrote on its official X handle.
“Bodies of five terrorists are lying in the orchards but have not been retrieved yet,” an official added. Officials said as soon as the joint team approached the specific spot, hiding militants fired at them prompting a retaliation by forces which triggered an encounter.
Security forces intensified search operations to neutralise the militants.
Major Blow To Hizb
The Hizbul Mujahideen received a major blow with the killing of its top gun and the longest surviving militant commander in the Kulgam encounter.
Farooq Ahmad alias Nali and also known as Umer was killed alongside four militant associates in his hometown in the gunfight which broke out before dawn, sources said.
5 Militants Killed
This is the second major strike by the security forces against Hizb since July when security forces killed their four terrorists inside a fortified hideout in a cupboard in Kulgam district.
But the killing of Nali, who is the key accused in several cases including targeted killing of migrant workers, is seen as a major blow to the outfit. He was evading the security forces for long.
The banned terror outfit carried out terror activities through him in south Kashmir, said a senior police officer, who described him as a key accused in attacking non-locals and civilians.
Kashmir has seen selected killings of non-local migrant workers and Kashmiri Pandits in the last five years after the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019.
Citing one such case, the police officer said that Nali working on the direction from his handlers across the border got Sarpanch Shabir Ahmad Mir killed inside his home in Kulgam’s Adoora in March 2022. He swiftly executed the plan through his associates, who were nabbed by the Police later, the officer said.
Absconding since signing up as a militant in 2015, his home was raided by Jammu and Kashmir Police last year in connection with the killing of five non-local workers in 2019. The slain was classified as a A++, a designation for militants carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh.
Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Deputy Inspector General (DIG) south Kashmir Javid Iqbal Matoo confirmed killing five terrorists in the Kulgam encounter but did not reveal the identity yet. The counterinsurgency operation, according to him, was still underway and the bodies of terrorists were being retrieved.
Earlier, the Kashmir Zone Police posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Encounter has started at Kadder area of Kulgam district. Police and security forces are on the job. Further details shall follow.”
Indian Army’s Chinar Corps said that the terrorists opened a “heavy volume” of fire when challenged by the security forces.
“OP KADER, Kulgam. Based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists, a Joint Operation was launched by the Indian Army and J-K police at Kader, Kulgam. Suspicious activity was observed by vigilant troops and on being challenged, terrorists opened indiscriminate and heavy volumes of fire. Own troops effectively retaliated. Operation is in progress,” it said in a post on X.
Earlier on December 3, a terrorist identified as Junaid Ahmed Bhat was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Srinagar district. Police said Bhat was involved in civilian killings at Gagangir, Ganderbal and several other terror attacks, in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to chair a high-level security meeting in the national capital on December 19, according to official sources.
The officials, privy to the development, said that the meeting will primarily focus on critical security issues, with a special emphasis on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha will also attend the meeting, which aims to review strategies to ensure peace and stability in the region.
