2-month-long ops led to Lashkar killings

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 19

The relentless operations in Hajin for the past over two months by security forces yielded fruits on Saturday when they eliminated the six-member Pakistani group of the Lashkar-e-Toiba which was involved in many killings and also injuring CRPF commandant Chetan Cheeta.

Six top Lashkar militants, including Obaid, alias Osama Jangvi, son of Abdul Rehman Makki, second in command of Jamat ud Dawah, and nephew of alleged mastermind of Mumbai attacks Zakir Rehman Lakhvi, were killed in a gunfight at Chandrageer in Hajin, Bandipora, 32 km from Srinagar. An elite Garud commando of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, 31, who was operating with the Army for operational training was also killed in the gunfight.

The General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lt Gen JS Sandhu, on Sunday said Hajin was an area of focus for the security agencies.

“Terrorists had resorted to some atrocities in the area. As a strategy, we had launched several operations in Hajin mid-September onwards. We were practically launching search operations on a daily basis. We had inducted Special Forces in the area and along with the intelligence network, police and the CRPF, the law and order in Hajin was brought under control. We were keeping a watch over the Chandrageer area for the last two-three days and yesterday based upon a specific input, the joint operation was launched in which six terrorists were eliminated,” Lt General Sandhu said at a joint press conference also attended by Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid and senior police, Army and CRPF officers.

“All six were foreign terrorists led by Mehmood Bhai and comprised the bulk of the Hajin group. I want to highlight that the Hajin group (of the Lashkar) has largely been decimated,” he said. “We will continue the operations and we hope to restore peace in the Valley as soon as possible.”

The DGP said the operation on Saturday evening had "cleaned up the area”. “I am sure the people will have a sigh of relief and they would lead a life free of terror,” Vaid said at the joint briefing.

Obaid was the third member of the Lakhvi’s family who had joined the Lashkar ranks and got killed in Kashmir since 2007. Hajin, which was once the headquarters of counter-insurgency group Ikwan, had of late turned into a strong base for Lashkar. Earlier this year, Lakhvi's another nephew Musaib was also killed in Hajin.

IGP, Kashmir, Munir Khan said the Lashkar leadership is sending their relatives to boost the morale of its cadres. “There is a leadership bankruptcy in the Lashkar and other organisations. In a way to motivate their cadres operating in the Valley, they started sending close relatives. It is nothing more than that,” Khan said.

Top officers involved in the anti-militancy operation said they had plugged loopholes to ensure no repetition of the past as this group had managed to escape at least twice in recent months.

“In the past operations, the militants used to fire indiscriminately at a single point to break the cordon. In a few cases they had managed to escape and we lost many of our men. On Saturday afternoon when the operation was launched around four suspected houses, they followed the same strategy, but we had plugged all exit routes and in half an hour all six top militants were killed,” a police officer said. “We suspected a local militant might have been part of the group, but he was not with them. The combing operation was over in two hours.”

Nearly 200 terrorists still active in Kashmir

The Army on Sunday said 190 militants were killed in the Kashmir valley this year. The GOC, 15 Corps, Lt Gen JS Sandhu, said out of the 190 militants, 66 were killed along Line of Control while they were trying to infiltrate. “Of the killed, 80 terrorists were locals and 110 were foreign terrorists. This has brought a remarkable change in the ground situation,” he said. Around 200 militants, including 110 to 120 locals, are currently active in Kashmir.