After killing of four ultras, focus back on IS in Valley
In the past six months, four militants — believed to be with Islamic State — were killed in two separate gunfights in south Kashmir and Srinagar
The history of emergence of militants influenced by Islamic State (IS) dates back to November last year even though police on Friday admitted for the first time about the presence of IS in Kashmir when four militants were killed in an encounter in the Nowshera village of Anantnag.
However, in the past six months four militants believed to be with IS were killed in two separate gunfights in south Kashmir and Srinagar. Of the four, three were locals and forth was from Telangana, who were dubbed by their supporters as militants linked with Islamic State J&K.
Police, however, claim that with killing of these four militants in south Kashmir, IS in J&K has no militant presence on the ground. ‘They (IS) don’t have any infrastructure in J&K, only these militants were affiliated with them. With the killing of these militants there is no IS presence now,” J&K director general of police, SP Vaid told Hindustan Times soon after the encounter ended in south Kashmir.
Vaid, however, admitted that earlier also militants influenced by IS ideology like Mugees Mir of Srinagar was killed in an encounter. “They were affiliated with Tehreek-ul-Mujahedeen earlier,” he said.
Dawood Ahmad Sofi, a resident of HMT Zanikote, police said was the leader of the group, the other militants were identified as Majid Manzoor Dar, Aadil Rehman Bhat and Mohammad Ashraf Itoo from south Kashmir.
Police said Sofi, 33, was involved in number of stone-pelting cases in the area prior to joining the ranks of militants, besides killing of policemen. Sofi had joined militancy two years ago and was an A+++ category militant and was a close friend of Mugees Ahmad Mir of Parimpora who was killed in the outskirts of Srinagar.
“Dawood Sofi, Mugees Mir and Mehraj-ud-din Bangroo of old city had formed a separate group. However, Bangroo later parted ways from them and joined Lashkar,” police said.
“Anyone who is professing IS ideology and indulging in violence is their member and they use internet to establish contact with them,” said a senior police officer, adding that the IS militants procure weapons by snatching from the security forces.
In March this year, three members of the same group, including Essa Fazili of Soura, Syed Owais of Kokernag and MD Toufeeq of Telangana were killed in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Hakoora village. Soon after their killing the ISIS had claimed the men as their own and named them as Abu Zarr Al-Hindi, Abu Barra Al-Kashmiri and Eisa Ruhollah Khatab Al-Kashmiri.
On Friday as well the IS claimed that Sofi and three militants were affiliated with the group by claiming the attack in Srigufwara in which one policeman was killed.
In Kashmir, ISIS came on the radar of J&K Police first time in 2015, when 26-year-old Adil Fayaz of Jawhar Nagar in uptown city joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Officials said they had information that he had joined IS in Turkey where he according to his family was working with an NGO. Since then neither his family nor police had heard anything about him.
From the past three-four years, many youths have been hoisting black flags of the IS during protests and funerals of militants.