A Hizbul Mujahideen ‘divisional commander’, tasked with reviving militancy in the Pir Panjal valley, was among two infiltrators killed close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch, the Army said on Monday.
The Army said the troops, along with the J&K Police, engaged two infiltrating terrorists in a gunfight around 2 a.m. in Degwar Terwan area, close to the LoC.
“One terrorist fell down immediately. The second terrorist tried to run back towards the LoC, was engaged and hit and was seen falling down,” Jammu-based Army spokesman Lt. Col. Suneel Bartwal said.
The Army identified the slain militant as Muneser Hussain, a resident of Bagyladra, Poonch. “He was a dreaded terrorist and a Divisional Commander of the HM. In 1993 he went to Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK), came back in 1996 and again returned to PoK in 1998. He has masterminded number of attacks on security forces. As per Police records, his family of two wives and children are residents of Surankote, Poonch,” the Army spokesman said.
Hussain is a close associate of Maulana Dawood Kashmir, a close aide Hizb supremo Syed Salahuddin.
“Recently a high-level meeting of the HM took place in Islamabad (Pakistan), which he (Hussian) attended. The agenda of the meeting was revival of the HM in Rajouri-Poonch belt,” the Army said.
Hussain, along with his bodyguard was sent with the agenda of reviving the HM in Rajouri Poonch and South of Pir-Panjal. “He was given a larger leadership role of tanzeems (outfits) and told to revive terrorism south of the Pir Panjal,” the Army said.
The Army said the Monday’s operation has again made it evident that Pakistan was trying to send old terror veterans to J&K to motivate and recruit youth, “thus making desperate attempts to revive terrorism”.
