Three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists shot down by security forces in south Kashmir's Shopian

Three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists were on Monday shot down by joint security forces after an encounter in the Wachi village of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district. Security sources later confirmed that the terrorists were affiliated to the pro-Pakistan terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, which seeks the reintegration of Jammu and Kashmir with Pakistan.

The encounter was triggered after a cordon and search operation was launched by a joint team of the Indian Army's 55 Rashtriya Rifles and Special Group of Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday morning. The operation was launched after receiving credible inputs regarding the presence of terrorists in the Wachi village.

Jammu & Kashmir: 3 terrorists killed today by security forces during an encounter in Shopian were affiliated to proscribed terrorist outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/Aoo2xWI7rT

— ANI (@ANI) January 20, 2020

The three terrorists, who were hiding in a residential house in the south Kashmir village, was smoked out of their hiding as a result of the operation and subsequently, they opened fire on security personnel, leading to the encounter.

Major General Anindya Sengupta, while speaking about the encounter, said, "The terrorists were asking for food and shelter from poeople in Wachi and other nearby villages. Some jawans were keeping a tab on their movement. Today morning, they spotted the terrorists, engaged and eliminated them without the loss of life and civilian property."

One of the slain terrorists has been identified as one Adil Sheikh, hailing from the Zainapora village in Shopian. According to sources, Sheikh was responsible for looting eight weapons from the residence of former PDP MLA Ajaj Mir in Jawahar Nagar in Srinagar on September 29, 2018. The second terrorist was identified as Waseem Wani, a resident of the Urpora village in Shopian district. The identity of the third militant was unknown at first but has now been confirmed as one Jahangir.

J&K DGP Dilbag Singh, while addressing a press conference later, confirmed the reports and said that one of the slain terrorists, Wasim Ahmed Wani, was "active since 2017" and was on a top position in Hizbul Mujahideen. "He had 19 FIRs against him and was also involved in the killing of four civilians and four police personnel," Dilbag Singh said, adding that Hizbul Mujahideen is on the verge of being completely wiped out in south Kashmir.

Hizbul Mujahideen is an infamous terror outfit actively taking part in insurgency in Kashmir and north-east Pakistan. It has been categorised as a terrorist outfit by India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.