New Delhi, Srinagar: The killing of Jammu and Kashmir’s most wanted terrorist Zakir Musa, the last remaining member of the Burhan Wani gang, is a huge success for security forces and a severe blow to the terror infrastructure in Kashmir.
Musa, a college dropout, was killed in a joint operation by the 42 Rashtriya Rifles, along with Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF in Dadasara village of Tral in South Kashmir in a fierce encounter last night.
Top sources in the security establishment told ThePrint that Musa, who wanted to create an Islamic Caliphate in Kashmir, was killed last night but his body was recovered at 6 am Friday morning from the rubble of the building he was holed up.
“Assuredly moving towards #TerrorismFreeKashmir. Terrorist Leadership targeted successfully in #Tral. College dropout ZakirBhat #Musa leader of #AGuH neutralised. Defied #Hizb continuously. Commendable & laudable efforts by @adgpi @northerncomd_ia @kashmirpolice @crpf_srinagar,” the Srinagar based Chinar Corps, also knowns as 15 Corps, tweeted in the morning.
Musa, chief and founder of Ansar-ul-Gazwat-ul Hind (AGH), a Kashmir-based militant outfit inspired by Al-Qaeda, was an A++ category terrorist who was active since 2013 in the Valley.
Security forces had to blast a chemist’s house where Musa was hiding. The owner was sent in to ask Musa to surrender but he declined and fired from his gun leading to the gun battle.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police issued a statement saying that the “terrorist was carrying rocket launcher, grenades, huge ammunition and warlike stores” beside an AK 47.
A source said Musa, who in video clips in the last month had called for a religious battle in Kashmir to establish Islamic rule and impose Shariah, was trapped in Tral after being first spotted around his home in Awantipora.
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A former Hizbul commander
Musa, 25, was a militant commander with the Hizbul Mujahideen between 2013 and 2017. He was part of the Burhan Wani group.
Hailing from Noorpora village of south Kashmir’s Awantipora region, Musa, whose real name is Zakir Rasheed, was considered a close confidante of Wani. He, however, developed differences with the Pakistan-based leadership of the Hizbul Mujahideen, defected from the outfit and floated the AGH. Close aides of Musa followed suit and joined the new outfit, which did not subscribe to the Hizbul’s self-professed aim of merging Kashmir with Pakistan.
Although Musa was believed to be behind minor attacks on security forces in South Kashmir between 2014 and 2018, police had not connected a single major attack to him.
In his latest and last audio, released in April 2019, Musa had said that his group would “start action” against security forces in Kashmir.
AGH militants, however, have been killed in multiple encounters with the biggest one taking place in December when six men believed to be of the outfit were gunned down in Arampora village of Awantipora in Tral.
Even at its peak, the AGH had less than a dozen militants but Musa’s name was popular in parts of south Kashmir. After the killing, police sources had said that only four militants, including Musa, were believed to be alive. In January 2018, the Ministry of Home Affair’s had informed Parliament that Musa’s group had the support of “less than 10 militants”.
The slain militant, the son of Rasheed Bhat, a government employee in Kashmir, had been pursuing a degree in civil engineering from a college in Chandigarh when he decided to join the militants.
Valley remains closed
Apprehensive about a potential threat to the law and order situation in Kashmir, the state administration ordered all schools and colleges across the Valley to remain closed on 24 May.
Officials said the decision has been taken as a precautionary measure and did not confirm if the move was related to Musa’s killing. High-speed internet across the Valley was also snapped fearing street protests.
From Thursday evening, violent clashes between civilians and security forces broke out in parts of south Kashmir and Srinagar.
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