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HomeIndiaLast surviving militant of Burhan Wani core group killed in Shopian

Last surviving militant of Burhan Wani core group killed in Shopian

Lateef Ahmed Dar, who flanked Burhan Wani in a 2015 viral photograph, was among three militants killed in a gunfight in south Kashmir.

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Srinagar: The last surviving militant from Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani’s viral 2015 group photograph was Friday killed in a fierce gun battle with security forces in Kashmir’s Shopian region.

Lateef Ahmed Dar was among the 10 militants who flanked Wani with rifles in the photograph that was shared widely on social media. Dar, wearing army fatigues and holding a gun, sat left of Wani and posed with his finger pointing to the sky.

All the others, except one, have been killed in various encounters between 2016 and 2019. The one militant not killed, Tariq Pandit, had surrendered in May 2016, two months before Wani was killed in an encounter with security forces.

After Wani’s death, Dar was designated as a commander of the outfit. In his late 20s, Dar was involved in multiple attacks on paramilitaries and the Army in South Kashmir, according to police officials.

A resident of Dogripora village in Awantipora, Dar or Lateef Tiger, was isolated and cordoned in Imam Sahab area of Shopian along with two other militants — Tariq Mufti and Shariq Ahmed Nengroo.

Mufti and Shariq were comparatively new to the militant outfit.

Army man injured in the encounter

A senior J&K police officer told ThePrint that an army man was also injured in the gunfight.

“The gunfight began when a joint team of the Army’s 34 Rashtriya Rifles, the CRPF and the J&K Police’s special operation group launched a cordon-and-search operation at Adkhara village in Imam Sahab early morning,” the officer said. “An army man was also injured during the gunfight and is currently being treated,” the officer added.

“Three bodies, two AK 47s and an SLR (rifle) have been recovered from the encounter site,” a senior CRPF official told ThePrint.

Internet services in South Kashmir had been snapped since 4 am and soon after the encounter, clashes broke out in multiple areas, including Awantipora and Shopian.

Moolu Chitragam, the home of Tariq Molvi and Nengroo’s village of Chotigam in Shopian are among the areas that remain tense. Schools and colleges have been shut amid apprehension that the situation might deteriorate further.

The incident also comes ahead of the fifth phase of elections to be held on 6 May. Anantnag in south Kashmir votes in this phase.


Also read: The scars of Burhan Wani & PDP-BJP tie-up: What kept south Kashmir away from voting


 

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2 COMMENTS

  1. That was a turning point in the history of modern Kashmir. Also led to a lot of people sustaining eye injuries.

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