Hizb names new commander

SRINAGAR: Mehmood Ghaznavi will be the Hizbul Mujahideen’s new commander in Kashmir, the militant group announced on Tuesday. He will succeed Burhan Wani. Hizbul

SRINAGAR: Mehmood Ghaznavi will be the Hizbul Mujahideen’s new commander in Kashmir, the militant group announced on Tuesday. He will succeed Burhan Wani. Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin held a meeting of the group on Tuesday and announced Ghaznavi’s appointment in a statement issued to local news agency KNS.

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There was no immediate information available on Ghaznavi. Speculations were rife that his real name was Sabzar Ahmed Bhat.

A native of Rathsuna in southern Kashmir, Sabzar was said to be a close friend of Wani, who joined the militant group when he was 15 years old and became the poster boy of modern-day militancy in Kashmir. But police refused to comment on this.