Top Kashmiri militant Zakir Musa was on Thursday evening trapped during an encounter between him and security personnel in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, PTI reported. Some reports claimed Musa, who is the chief of Al-Qaeda’s Kashmir cell, Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, was killed in the gunfight.
After receiving specific inputs about Musa’s presence in the location, security forces launched a search and cordon operation in Tral, police officials said. A joint team of security forces, including the Indian Army’s 42 Rashtriya Rifles, Special Operations Group, and Central Reserve Police Force, were involved in the operation.
The team allegedly tried to convince Musa to surrender, but he threw grenades at them which led to the encounter, Greater Kashmir reported. Additional security personnel were deployed to the location to prevent the escape of the militant, officials said.
Internet services have been reportedly suspended in Pulwama, IANS reported. Authorities have ordered that all schools and colleges in the Kashmir Valley be shut on Friday.
In July 2017, Musa, who was the former Hizbul Mujahideen commander, was named the chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind in Kashmir. Musa was previously the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen. He had taken to militancy in 2013.
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