Zakir Musa had reportedly visited the area to meet family members but ran out of luck as he was trapped by the security forces in the thickly forested area.
A joint team of security forces late Thursday night neutralized one of the most wanted militant commander, Zakir Musa in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
After Burhan Wani, he was the most popular militant commander among the young cadre of militant outfits.
In Rahmoo, Rajpora, Kakapora, Malangpora villages of Pulwama district, pro-freedom slogans were raised from the loudspeakers fitted atop religious places.
He was currently heading Al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind.
Confirming the news of his death in the fierce gunfight late Thursday night, Ministry of Defence spokesman in Srinagar Friday morning said, “one terrorist was killed in a late night operation in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district”.
Defense Spokesman said, “the lone terrorist has been identified as Zakir Musa after the recovery of the dead body from the encounter site in Dadasur village of Tral area in Pulwama”.
Musa had reportedly visited the area to meet family members but ran out of luck as he was trapped by the security forces in the thickly forested area where appeals were made to him to lay down his arms. Instead of responding to the offer he retaliated by lobbing grenades and opened indiscriminate firing. In response, security forces returned the fire eliminating him in the gunfight.
Musa was a former commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), the militant group he joined in 2013. Musa was studying Civil engineering from a private college in Punjab, before returning to Kashmir valley.
He had succeeded Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani after he was killed in July 2016.
Later, he founded his own group Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an affiliate of Al-Qaida.
He hogged headlines for a long time after he threatened to behead separatists leaders of the Hurriyat Conference for calling Kashmir a political dispute instead of a religious struggle to establish an Islamic state.
Protests rocked Pulwama, Shopian, and parts of Kashmir valley.
Soon after the news of Zakir Musa, trapped by security forces in Dadasur, spread in the adjoining areas spontaneous protests rocked many parts of Kashmir valley. Local authorities, moved swiftly and imposed restrictions and also suspended mobile internet services across different parts of Kashmir valley.
To handle law and order situation on ground zero the Jammu and Kashmir police also announced restrictions in some areas of Pulwama, Awantipora, Srinagar, Anantnag and Budgam as a precautionary measure.
Protests were also reported from Trehgam in Kupwara and Sopora areas. Students of the University of Kashmir also gathered outside Zakoora campus to protest against the killing.
In Rahmoo, Rajpora, Kakapora, Malangpora villages of Pulwama district, pro-freedom slogans were raised from the loudspeakers fitted atop religious places.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan said classwork in all schools and colleges will remain suspended in Kashmir on Friday.
SSP Srinagar Dr Haseeb Mughal said that restrictions will be put in place in the downtown area of Srinagar.
Meanwhile, train service will also remain suspended on Friday (24 May 2019) from Banihall To Baramulla and vice versa, officials said.
Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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Jai Ho!
Another one bites the dust.
Well done, Indian Security forces.
But is it necessary to publicise who has been eliminated?
Just give the terrorist a quiet burial somewhere in the forest.