Al Qaeda-linked terror group wiped out: J&K DGP after encounter

Three militants of Ansar ul Gazwat ul Hind, a terror outfit linked to al Qaeda, were killed in an encounter in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said on Wednesday.

Abdul Hameed Lelhari, named as successor to Ansar chief Zakir Musa in June this year, was one of the three men killed by security forces on Tuesday, said Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh.

Zakir Rashid Bhat aka Zakir Musa, Kashmir’s most-wanted militant, was killed in a joint operation by the Army, CRPF and state police in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on May 23 this year.

Musa was affiliated with Pakistan-based militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen when it was led by Burhan Wani. In 2017, Musa formed his own outfit Ansar ul Gazwat ul Hind.

DGP Dilbag Singh said that with the death of the three militants in the Tral encounter Ansar ul Gazwat ul Hind has been completely wiped out.

The police had yesterday said that the terror module was involved in the killing of two brothers from the nomadic Gujjar community in August.

DGP Singh said that Pakistan is pushing militants into Jammu and Kashmir through its terror launch pads. “Pakistan Army and ISI [ Pakistan’s spy agency Inter Services Intelligence] are involved in pushing in maximum number of militants towards the Indian side,” Singh said.

The Jammu and Kashmir police chief also sought support from the public in the fight against terrorism. “We will be successful in our efforts to curb terrorism only when the local youth of Kashmir do not take the path of militancy and choose the path of peace,” Singh added.