Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander killed in Uri encounter

Srinagar: Abdul Qayoom Najar, a top commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed in an encounter with the security forces in Jammu & Kashmir’s Uri sector near the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday.

The police, in a statement, termed it “a very significant achievement”. It also said that Najar, 41, was returning to the Valley from PoK to lead the Hizb, which suffered huge losses in the hands of security forces in recent weeks.

Najar, also known as Jan Sahib and Ishfaq, was a resident of Mumkak in Sopore, and had joined the militancy in 1999. “He had gone to PoK in 2015 and was returning to take command of the Hizb,” the police said. It added that he was sent to the Valley by PoK-based United Jihad Council (UJC) chief Syed Salahuddin “to revive the Hizb, whose commander of north Kashmir, Pervaiz Wani, and that of South Kashmir, Yasin Yatoo, were killed recently”.

“His return was also necessitated because of the Hizb being wiped out from north Kashmir,” the police added.

Officials said that Najar, who figured in the list of most wanted terrorists, was killed as the Army and other security forces foiled an infiltration bid along the LoC in Uri. The police added that Najar was involved in the killings of dozens of civilians, police and other security personnel.