Two top Hizbul militants, including ex-cop, gunned down in J&K shootout

Two top Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a former policeman, who was in the security detail of a PDP Minister and fled with two AK 47 rifles last year, were killed in an encounter with security forces in South Kashmir’s Shopian district on Thursday. The Army has hailed the operation as a “major breakthrough”.

Naseer Ahmad Pandit and Inamul Haq alias Waseem Malla were shot dead in an encounter with a joint team of local police, CRPF and Rashtriya rifles at Vehil village near Shopian, 55 km from here, the Army said.

“It was a joint operation of the police, CRPF and Rashtriya Rifles. We were able to eliminate the two top terrorists of Hizbul Mujahideen. Their killing caused a serious dent in the top leadership of Hizbul Mujahideen,” General Officer Commanding of Army’s Victor Force Major General Ashok Narola said.

Terming the killing of Pandit and Malla as a “major breakthrough” in the anti-militancy operations, the officer said the top leadership of the terrorist outfit was now “almost finished”. Narola said the operation was “clean” with the security forces suffering no casualties.

“With the killing of Waseem Malla and Naseer Pandit in Shopian district this morning, the top leadership of Hizbul Mujahideen is almost finished. While Malla was a A++ category militant, Pandit, who deserted police to join Hizbul Mujahideen ranks last year, was also A-Plus category militant,” Narola said.

He said Malla, a resident of Pehlipora in Shopian, was the mastermind behind the killing of three policemen in cold blood at Amshipora village of Shopian on April 6 last year.