Militant killed by ‘rival’ group

The slain militant was identified as Adil Dass, who had quit the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to join a so-called Islamic State (IS) inspired group operating in Kashmir. Arif Hussain Bhat, the wounded militant, is a suspected member of the home-grown Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

A militant was found dead and another wounded following a suspected clash between two rival militant groups in Anantnag district on Wednesday, the Jammu and Kashmir police said.

Groups owing allegiance with global terror groups like al Qaida and IS that have emerged in Kashmir over the last few years have been critical of Pakistan. (HT Photo)

The slain militant was identified as Adil Dass, who had quit the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) to join a so-called Islamic State (IS) inspired group operating in Kashmir. Arif Hussain Bhat, the wounded militant, is a suspected member of the home-grown Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

“It seems [there was] a group clash between HM and ISJK [Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir],” said deputy police inspector general Atul Kumar Goel.

He said a team of security forces found Bhat wounded in an orchard in Anantnag’s Bijbehara and arrested him. Goel added both were found with bullet injuries. He said the reasons for the clash were unclear. “We are investigating,” he said. Goel added Bhat is undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

To be sure, rival militant groups have clashed in Kashmir in the past as well. In the 1990s, home-grown militant groups HM and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) clashed frequently because of their ideological differences. The JKLF advocated freedom for Jammu and Kashmir while HM backed its merger with Pakistan.

Groups owing allegiance with global terror groups like al Qaida and IS that have emerged in Kashmir over the last few years have been critical of Pakistan. Zakir Musa, 25, who was killed last month, had denounced Pakistan and quit the HM when he announced the formation of an al Qaida affiliate in Jammu and Kashmir in 2017.

Three suspected ISJK militants were killed in Kashmir in May and June. Security agencies have maintained that the group has no direct connection with the IS, which overran swathes of Iraq and Syria in 2014.