Zakir Musa killed in South Kashmir encounter: Officials

Srinagar, May 24

Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group affiliated to Al-Qaeda, was killed in an encounter with security forces at a village in South Kashmir’s Tral, officials confirmed on Friday.

A defence spokesman said one militant was killed in the operation at Dadsara in Tral area of Pulwama district on Thursday night.

“The (slain) militant was identified as Zakir Musa after the body was recovered on Friday morning. Weapons and war-like stores were recovered from the encounter site,” defence spokesman Rajesh Kalia said, adding that the operation had been called off.

Senior police officials said security forces had launched a cordon and search operation at Dadsara village and when the terrorists tried to escape, a gunfight broke out.

They said efforts were made to make them surrender but the request fell on deaf ears and the holed-up militants started lobbing grenades using a launcher.

The officials said another team of security forces was rushed to the area to prevent the militants from escaping under the cover of darkness.

Spontaneous protests broke out on Thursday night in Shopian, Pulwama, Awantipora and downtown Srinagar, with people raising slogans in favour of Musa, prompting authorities to impose curfew in some parts of the Valley as a precautionary measure.

Restrictions have been imposed in some areas of Pulwama, Srinagar, Anantnag and Budgam districts. Educational institutes have been ordered closed for the day while mobile internet services have also been snapped across Kashmir.

The officials said the decision was made keeping in view the Friday prayer gatherings. — PTI