Coming as a big victory for India, Jammu and Kashmir police chief, Dilbag Singh today informed that the Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind (AGH), the Al Qaeda-linked terror group that was headed by Zakir Musa, has been wiped out. The AGH is supported by the Al Qaeda and is regarded as its branch in Kashmir.
“As of now, Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind group has been wiped out,” he told reporters in Srinagar, though he didn’t completely rule out the possibility of the re-emergence of the terror group in the future.
Terror group Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind has been wiped out, says Jammu & Kashmir DGP
Read @ANI Story | https://t.co/ED584f1eiJ pic.twitter.com/MliXIRSGzT
— ANI Digital (@ani_digital) October 23, 2019
This news came a day after Zakir Musa’s successor and chief of Kashmir’s al-Qaeda unit, Hamid Lelhari, was gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir’s Awantipora district. He was amongst the three terrorists shot dead in an encounter with security forces in Awantipora on Tuesday. Lelhari was heading Al-Qaida linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. All three terrorists were working in coordination with Jaish-e-Mohammed.
Dilbag Singh informed that the operation against terrorists has been speeded up in the Valley. “In Tral, three local terrorists associated with Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind were killed yesterday. You would recall that when Zakir Musa was killed, the command of this group was handed over to Hameed Lelhari,” Singh said.
Hamid Lelhari, a native of Pulwama and member of Islamist organization Jamait-Ahl-e-Hadith, was announced Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH) chief two weeks after Zakir Musa was gunned down by security forces.
Singh said Lelhari became active in 2016 and was involved in several terror attacks.
The dreaded terrorist, Zakir Musa was the former chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind who was killed in May 23, 2019, in an encounter in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2017, he had threatened to liberate India from the Hindus.
Putting speculations to rest, Dilbag Singh also confirmed that the pace of recruitment to terror groups has been comparatively slower during this time, contrary to the claims that after August 5, more youths will join terrorist ranks.
Moreover, the security forces have also killed another three Jaish terrorists in an encounter in Pulwama yesterday. The terrorists were the ones who had kidnapped and killed two brothers f the Gujjar community in August.
