Srinagar: Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), a militant outfit inspired by al Qaeda, has been “wiped out” of Kashmir, with the last of its three militants, including chief Hameed Lelhari, being gunned down, the Jammu and Kashmir Police has claimed.
According to the police, Lelhari, who took over the AGH after the killing of its founder and former chief Zakir Musa in May, was killed in a gunfight along with Junaid Rashid and Naveed Tak in Rajpora area of Tral Tuesday.
The police initially thought two of the militants were Pakistanis, but preliminary identification of the men revealed all three were local residents. While Lelhari belonged to Pulwama, Rashid and Tak were residents of Tral, where the encounter took place Tuesday.
“The AGH has been wiped out. Although militant outfits have a network of over-ground workers who can anytime join militant ranks, for now, all of AGH has been wiped out,” J&K DGP Dilbagh Singh said at a press conference in Srinagar Wednesday.
AGH was coordinating with Jaish
The AGH was initially known for its anti-Pakistan stand as it had issued statements condemning the Pakistani Army and the ISI, and was also critical of the separatist leadership in Kashmir.
DGP Singh, however, said the AGH had now been coordinating with the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), much like other militant outfits in Kashmir, including the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which advocate Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan.
“JeM has been working with all the militant outfits. AGH too had been coordinating with JeM,” he said.
ThePrint had reported earlier that a day before he was killed in an encounter, Zakir Musa had met Jaish terrorists. After his encounter, the AGH began the process of working with the JeM.
Asked if he believed that the Pakistani establishment is now responsible for handling the affairs of the AGH, Singh said: “It is difficult to say, but at a local level, a connection (between AGH and Pakistan) is visible. I won’t say it is being directly run by Pakistan as of now.”
Also read: Killing of top Kashmir terrorist Zakir Musa huge success for forces, blow to terror set-up
How Musa’s killing changed things for AGH
Police say the encounter of Musa in May was a huge blow to the AGH. Musa was a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander until March 2017, but police sources say he quit owing to differences with the Pakistan-based leadership and founded the AGH the same year. He had wanted Hizbul to take an aggressive stand against local policemen and civilians collaborating with security forces for anti-insurgency operations.
Musa’s rebellion against his leaders had threatened Hizbul because he held sway within the outfit. However, this did not translate into more members for his new outfit, AGH. At its peak, the AGH had a total membership of not more than 12 militants, and suffered a major blow in December 2018 when five of its members, including the deputy chief, were killed in an encounter.
More AGH militants were killed earlier this year before Musa was gunned down in May. Lelhari took over after Musa’s killing, but was left without men or a support structure, police officers said.
Lelhari had been an active militant since 2016 and was responsible for a series of attacks on security forces that year, said the officers. DGP Singh said Lelhari had managed to recruit two militants after Musa’s killing — the same two killed in Tuesday’s encounter. Both these men had been responsible for coordinating with the JeM, the police chief said.
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