The security forces in Jammu & Kashmir have scored a “hat-trick” by eliminating more than 200 terrorists for the third time in one calendar year in the last one decade.
Earlier 220 terrorists were killed in anti-terrorists operations in 2017 and the highest number of 271 was gunned down in 2018 by the security forces in J&K.
This year more than 200 terrorists, including over two dozen top commanders of Lashkar-e- Tayyeba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahideen and other terror outfits, have been killed by the security forces till October.
Director General of Jammu & Kashmir Police Dilbagh Singh late on Sunday told the media, “Since January 1, 2020 more than 200 terrorists have been gunned down which included 190 in Kashmir and over a dozen in Jammu region”.
Over 30 top commanders — who were either number one or number two — have been eliminated in the last 10 months, after which their leadership structure has been broken to a great extent.
He said, the anti-terrorists operations like last year would continue even during the winter months and would be carried out with more vigour and severity.
Referring to the elimination of Chief Operational Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Dr Saifullah in Rangreth area of Srinagar, Dilbagh Singh said after the killing of Reyaz Naikoo in May 2020, Hizbul Mujahideen had become leaderless and after the killing of Dr Saifullah, it has become leaderless once again.
Earlier in May 2020, Junaid Sehrai, the top Hizbul Mujahideen commander and son of Tehreek-Hurriyat chairman Ashraf Sehrai was killed in Nawakdal area in Srinagar.
In the last week of September 2020, Aijaz Ahmed Reshi, one of the longest surviving Lashkar-e-Tayyeba commander was eliminated. He was working as an over ground worker in 2015 and joined the ranks of a terrorist outfit before Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. He took part in an attack at EDI Pampore in which eight CRPF men were killed. He had transported the Lashkar men to the spot. He had fired at the Army party killing three soldiers at Kadlabal, Pampore”.
In June 2020, three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists, including an improvised explosive device (IED) expert and mastermind of the car bomb attack, Abdul Rehman alias Fouji Bhai, a resident of Multan Pakistan, was killed in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Patting the back of the joint team of security forces, who participated in the operation on Sunday in which Dr Saifullah alias Ghazi Haider was killed, the DGP said that security forces had inputs that Dr Saifullah and his men were planning to attack some more security installations and civilian areas in the Valley. He said the operation was launched and the top commander was neutralised without suffering any collateral damage.