A gunfight broke out between militants and government forces at Dadsara village in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Thursday after specific lead about the presence of Mousa-led group of AGH. Reports said that a joint team of army’s 42 RR, SOG and CRPF cordoned off Dadsara village late last evening.
A police officer said that the cordon was laid following inputs about the presence of the militant commander of Ansar Gazwatul Hind Zakir Musa. The joint team according to the officer tried to persuade the militant commander to surrender, "However, he fired some UBGL leading to an byencounter."
Who was Zakir Musa?
Zakir Rashid Bhat, his real name, was the Kashmir Valley's most wanted militant commander who headed the Al Qaeda affiliate Ansar Gazwatul Hind. He was 25-year-old an engineering dropout who abandoned education and joined militancy. There had been an increase in his following after he quit the Hizbul to head the al Qaeda linked group.
As per the reports, he was a close associate of Burhan Wani who was killed in 2017. He succeeded Burhan and later headed the Al Qaeda affiliate. He had also taken to militancy in 2013.
The killing of Zakir Musa is seen as a big success for the security forces in their anti-militancy operations in Kashmir.
Following the encounter, authorities have suspended mobile Internet services in Awantipora area of Pulwama as a precaution.