Bloodiest month for militants, 9 commanders killed in J&K
SRINAGAR : With the killing of 37 militants in different encounters across Kashmir, November has been the deadliest month for the rebels. Among the nine top militant commanders killed this month, five were affiliated with the Hizbul Mujahideen and four with the Lashkar-e-taiba (LET). Let’s Naveed Jatt, the prime suspect in the June murder of journalist Shujaat Bukhari, was killed on Wednesday in Budgam.
According to official figures, 227 militants have been killed in different parts of Kashmir this year until November 29. LET and the Hizbul Mujahideen have suffered the maximum fatalities, losing a combined 207 militants.
Officials admit that the focus in recent times has been to target militant commanders who play a crucial role in recruitment. J&K’S director general of police, Dilbag Singh, said nearly 250 militants are operating in the state. “After several successful operations, the graph of militancy, especially in south Kashmir, has come down and also the fresh recruitment has declined.”
A senior police officer, who requested anonymity, said that in 2018, more than 15 top militant commanders affiliated with the Jaish-e-mohammed, LET, Hizbul, Harkat-ul-mujahideen and Ansar Gazwat-ul-hind have been killed in different operations. “Even the militant modules which were helping commanders and several hideouts were busted,’’ he said.
The officer, however, said that now only three or four prominent top commanders are active, including Hizbul operational commander Riyaz Naikoo, Al-badr commander Zeenat-ul Islam (who was earlier with Hizbul), Lateef Tiger, who was an associate of late Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, and Zakir Musa, chief of the Ansar Gazwatul-hind.
The spate of militant killings, officials said, has lead to a fall in the number of LET cadres, which was earlier somewhere between 120-150. Officials say at least 100 LET militants are still active. This year, at least 46 militants were killed on the Line of Control (LOC) while trying to sneak into J&K.
Officials cited several reasons for the successful operations. “The intelligence network, flow of information...and shifting of the militants from forests to populated areas in the month of November are the reasons for the killings...,’’ an officer deployed in south Kashmir, said requesting anonymity .
Last year, in October and November, 44 militants were killed; in the past two months, the tally has already reached 63.
Two Hizbul militants were killed by security forces in a gun battle in Pulwama district early on Thursday. Police identified them as Adnan Lone and Adil Bhat of Hizbul. Lone was acting as district commander. Police said a cordon and search operation was launched jointly by the police and security forces based on credible information about the presence of militants in Awantipora.
“As the searches were going on, the search party was fired upon by the militants. The fire was retaliated, leading to a gunfight,” the spokesperson said.