6 militants of Zakir Musa outfit killed in gunfight in Pulwama

Tribune News Service
Srinagar, December 22

Six militants belonging to the Zakir Musa outfit, Ansar Ghazwatul Hind, were killed on Saturday in a gunfight with security forces in Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

Following information about the militants’ presence, the security forces surrounded Arampora village. “As the cordon was tightened, the militants fired triggering the encounter,” a police officer said.

The militants have been identified as Soliha Mohammad Akhoon of Arampora; Rasik Mir, Rouf Ahmed, Umer Ramzan, residents of Dadsara; Nadeem Sofi of Batgund; and Faisal Javid Khanday of Amlar Awantipora. Soliha, police said, was deputy chief of Ansar.

Rouf Ahmed and Umer Ramzan were also involved in the September 14 Maqsudan police station blast in Jalandhar.

Swayam Prakash Pani, the Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Range), said all the six were wanted in militancy-related activities.

A police spokesman said there was no collateral damage during the operation.

IGP Pani said, "All the six terrorists were wanted by the law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes, including attack on security establishments and civilian atrocities." The AGuH terrorist group was part of the Zakir Musa faction and was active in Pulwama district, the police spokesman said.

"As per police records, Rasiq had a long history of terror crime for last five years. Several terror cases were registered against him," the spokesperson said.

"Akhoon, according to police records, also had a long history of terror crimes since 2015 and was involved in several terror attacks on security establishments and many other civilian atrocities in the area," the spokesman said.

He said Sofi and Ramzan were also "involved in several terror crimes".

"Also, Rouf and Khanday were involved in planning and executing many terror attacks in the area," he said.

The spokesman said the bodies of all the six militants were handed over to their legal heirs after completion of medico-legal formalities.

"Arms and ammunition, including rifles, were recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and probe their complicity in other terror cases," he said.

The spokesman appealed to people not to venture near the encounter site since such an area could prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials. 

"People are requested to cooperate with police till the area is completely sanitized and cleared of all the explosives materials," he said. — With agencies