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Zahid Wani's killing likely to disorient JeM terrorists operating in Kashmir
The cooperation between J&K police and XV Corps, or Chinar Corps, headed by lieutenant general Devendra Pratap Pandey, led to the successful operation.
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) commander Zahid Wani along with three other terrorists – one of them from Pakistan – were neutralised by security forces in an overnight encounter that broke out on Saturday evening in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. The cooperation between Jammu and Kashmir police and XV Corps, or Chinar Corps, headed by lieutenant general Devendra Pratap Pandey, led to the successful operation.
Zahid Wani was wanted by security forces for a long time and J&K police, on receiving specific inputs on the JeM commander, launched a search operation in the Naira area of Pulwama. The search operation was followed by an encounter in which Wani and three other terrorists, including a Pakistani named Kafil was neutralised, police said.
Wani, one of the key JeM commanders after Lamboo and Sameer Dar, was arrested in Srinagar in 2016 for harbouring two Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) terrorists Danish and Mugeez, both from Srinagar’s Parimpora. Extremely radical and a hardcore Jihadi, Wani had arranged camouflage gear for those two terrorists. He became the top Jaish commander in south Kashmir after security forces killed Pulwama attack mastermind, Sameer Dar, last year.
JeM commander Zahid Wani, 4 other terrorists killed in twin encounter in J&K
Wani’s killing is expected to disorient the remaining JeM terrorists operating in the valley as he used to provide the planning and leadership. People in the security establishment believe that local recruitment in JeM may see a drop in the coming days since Wani was actively involved in the recruitment of young boys.
The other three terrorists killed in the Pulwama encounter have been identified as Waheed Ah Reshi, a resident of Khadarmuh, Inayaitullah Mir, a resident of Naira where the operation took place, and Kafil aka Chotu, a Pakistan-based terrorist.
Another terrorist working for Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and local The Resistance Front (TRF) was killed in a separate encounter in the Charar-i-Sharief area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district. An AK 56 rifle along with other incriminating material was recovered from the site.
In January alone, security forces have neutralised 21 terrorists, including eight from Pakistan, in 11 encounters so far. Security forces have intensified counterterrorism operations in the Kashmir valley following the recent civilian killings which particularly targeted minority communities and migrants in the region.
