Hizb commander among 3 terrorists killed in J&K
SRINAGAR: Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Ashraf Molvi and his two associates have been killed in an encounter with security forces near the route of the annual Amarnath Yatra, in Jammu & Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Friday, police said.
Molvi (50), who was on the list of top 10 most-wanted terrorists, was among the oldest surviving terrorists in Kashmir and has been active in south Kashmir since 2013, said an official.
According to the police, a cordon and search operation was launched in the Srichand Top forest area in Pahalgam, on Friday morning following specific inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area.
The official said the search operation turned into an encounter after the hiding terrorists fired at the security forces and three terrorists were killed in retaliatory fire.
“Ashraf Molvi (one of oldest surviving terrorists of HM terror outfit) along with two other terrorists were killed. Successful operation on the yatra route is a major success for us,” Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar tweeted.
Pahalgam, the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir, also serves as one of the base camps for the Amarnath yatra, which is scheduled to start on June 30 after a gap of two years.
It is scheduled to go on till August 11.
The government is expecting a record number of 600,000 pilgrims at the cave shrine during the 43-day pilgrimage.
Mohammad Ashraf Khan alias Ashraf Molvi hailed from south Kashmir’s Kokernag area.
He is the second topmost listed terrorist killed in encounters over the past two weeks.
On April 22, a top commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Yusuf Kantroo, was killed along with two associates at Malwah in Baramulla district.
Meanwhile, the police on Friday arrested a hybrid terrorist and his associate, allegedly linked to the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, from Baramulla district
“On specific information regarding movement of terrorists, a checkpoint was established by security forces near Hilltop Cheradari in Baramulla,” a police spokesman said.
During checking, two suspicious persons tried to flee the spot on noticing the joint party of the forces.
However, they were apprehended, he said.
The terrorists have been identified as Ashiq Hossain Lone of Hyder Mohalla Ushkara Baramulla and Uzair Amin Ganie of Kanthbagh Baramulla. “Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including 01 Pistol, 01 magazine, 08 live rounds, 02 hand grenades and 02 UBGL grenades have also been recovered from their possession,” said an official.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the arrested duo is linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT and had obtained these illegal arms and ammunition through some foreign terrorists with the intention to carry out terrorist activities in Baramulla and its adjacent areas, said police spokesperson. A case has been registered and further investigation is in progress, the spokesman said.
Police said that ‘hybrid’ militants are sympathetic to the militant cause and are radicalised enough to carry out targeted attacks and then slip back into normal life.