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78 militants neutralised by security forces this year in Kashmir: Top cop

Most of the militants killed in operations were affiliated with Lashkar and included some of the top commanders involved in attacks on the forces, said Inspector general of police (Kashmir Range) Vijay Kumar

Published on: Jul 16, 2021, 11:16:12 IST
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Seventy-eight militants have been killed in Kashmir since January this year, said the police on Friday. Most of the militants killed in operations were affiliated with Lashkar and included some of the top commanders involved in attacks on the forces, said Inspector general of police (Kashmir Range) Vijay Kumar on Friday.

Representational Image. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Representational Image. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

“In these encounters, most of the terrorists (killed) were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (39 out of 78) followed by Hizbul Mujahideen, and Al-Badr,” he said.

Also Read | Two militants killed in Srinagar gunfight: Police

Operations have been particularly successful in south Kashmir -- most of the militants were eliminated in districts of Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Kulgam. Most of them were locals who had joined the militant ranks in the past one or two years, he said.

Recently, top Lashkar commander Nadeem Abrar Bhat, who was allegedly involved in several killings of security forces and had joined the militants’ ranks in 2018, was killed.

Last week, Hizbul Mujahideen militant commander Mehrajuddin Halwai from Sopore was killed after his detention by security forces in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Police said he was killed when he was taken to retrieve his weapon from a hideout where he allegedly picked up his rifle and started firing.

  • Mir Ehsan
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Mir Ehsan

    Mir Ehsan has reported from Kashmir for the past more than 20 years. He is an assistant editor and bureau chief of HT in Kashmir since 2018. Before that he was associated with Indian Express. He has extensively covered Kashmir politics, militancy and developmental issues. He is also a recipient of Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award in 2005.Read More