Top militant commander, aide killed in covert ops: IGP Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday has claimed to have killed a top militant commander, Abbas Sheikh along with his associate Saqib Manzoor Dar, in an anti-militancy operation at Srinagar's Alouchi Bagh area. Abbas Sheikh, a resident of south Kashmir's Kulgam district, was one of the longest surviving militants in Kashmir. He was currently heading the newly-formed The Resistance Front (TRF).

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday has claimed to have killed a top militant commander, Abbas Sheikh along with his associate Saqib Manzoor Dar, in an anti-militancy operation at Srinagar's Alouchi Bagh area. Terming the operation as a big success for the security forces, the Inspector General of Police in Kashmir Vijay Kumar said, "Abbas Sheikh was behind the recent targeted killings of political activists and grenade attacks, besides motivating youngsters to join the militant ranks."

"Our team was following this group for some time and when the tipoff was confirmed. Ten policemen in civvies from the Special Operation Group (SOG) covertly conducted the operation. They (militants) opened fire and police retaliated in which Abbas and Saqib were killed," he said. According to the police, four militants are still active in the city and around 50 to 60 Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the militants are also active here. "We request parents to get back their children...We will try to arrest the militants or kill them. We will also ensure that all OGWs are arrested," said Kumar.

Abbas Sheikh, a resident of south Kashmir's Kulgam district, was one of the longest surviving militants in Kashmir. He had joined the ranks of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit in 2015 after serving several years in jail for involvement in militancy-related cases. He was currently heading the newly-formed The Resistance Front (TRF). The police claim that he was associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba and was among the top ten militants in the A++ category.

Interestingly, Sheikh's family have a long association with militancy in Kashmir. Abbas was the 15th member of the family who had picked up guns since the 90s. His nephew Tauseef Sheikh was the 16th member who took up arms in 2013 when he was 16 years old and died in 2018 during a gunfight. On Monday, he became the 16th militant from the family to lay down his life.

While Saqib Manzoor Dar, a resident of Srinagar's Barzulla, was active since August 2020. According to police, he was one of the two militants who killed two policemen at Srinagar's Baghat area on February 19, 2021. He was a post-graduate student and was a close associate of Sheikh and because of this, he quickly rose through the militant ranks. He has executed some of the killings in and around Srinagar at Sheikh's behest.