The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday said they have arrested the chief operational commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, dealing a severe blow to the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit.
Muzaffar Ahmed Dar alias Ghaznavi alias Ali was arrested from his hideout in Hazratbal, close to the University of Kashmir, on the outskirts of Srinagar, B. Srinivas, inspector general of police (IGP) Kashmir, told reporters in Srinagar.
Dar, a local militant but trained in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, has been an active terrorist in Jammu and Kashmir since 1990, Srinivas said.
A close associate of Hizbul Mujahideen supreme commander Syed Salahuddin, Dar had masterminded a landmine blast on the Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway last year that killed around a dozen Indian Army soldiers, the police officer said.