Riyaz Naikoo, top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist, killed in Pulwama encounter

[Kool_SRG]

The operation to nab Riyaz Naikoo was launched in his native Beigpora Gulazapura in Awantipora by the joint team of Jammu and Kashmir police and security forces on Tuesday night.

 

Top Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Riyaz Naikoo has been killed along with two associates by a joint team of security forces in Kashmir’s Pulwama district, a senior security official said on Wednesday.

Riyaz Naikoo, who was leading the banned Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir valley, had been trapped in the operation in Beighbora village of Pulwama district earlier in the day. Jammu and Kashmir director general of police Dilbag Singh was supervising the operation.

Also read : Riyaz Naikoo, Kashmir’s most wanted terrorist, carries Rs 12 lakh reward

A senior police officer described Riyaz Naikoo’s elimination as a huge success.

 

Naikoo is learnt to be close to the Pakistan-based Hizbul chief, Syed Salahuddin, who was declared a global terrorist by the US in 2017.

Naikoo had taken over as chief of the terror group after the outfit’s Kashmir commander Burhan Wani was gunned down in July 2016.

The tech-savvy Naikoo, who used to give private tuitions to school children before joining Hizbul Mujahideen, had played a crucial role in holding the terror group’s hold in the valley after the group’s Zakir Musa split the outfit in 2017 to form his own group Ansar Ghazwatul Hind.

 

Zakir Musa’s new outfit was claimed to be an affiliate of Al Qaeda. Musa didn’t get to lead the new outfit for long. He was killed in an encounter in Tral in May last year.

 

Naikoo, however, had been awfully lucky. In Kashmir, where the career span of terrorists rarely exceeds four years, Naikoo lasted eight years.

 

He had been cornered by the security forces in Kashmir on several occasions but had managed to slip out every time. One reason, a J&K police officer told Hindustan Times, that when the police got the initial input about the presence of Kashmir’s most-wanted terrorist, police chief Dilbag Singh quickly got into the picture to oversee the entire operation.

[Kool_SRG]

Who is Riyaz Naikoo, Kashmir’s most wanted militant?

Riyaz Naikoo, 30, started figuring prominently on the radar of security agencies after the killing of militant poster boy Burhan Wani in 2016. He carries a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head.

 

The abduction and release of family members of the Jammu and Kashmir policemen has brought the spotlight back on Riyaz Ahmed Naikoo, the most wanted militant in the Valley at the moment.

Naikoo, 30, started figuring prominently on the radar of security agencies after the killing of militant poster boy Burhan Wani in 2016. He carries a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head.

A resident of Naikoo Mohalla in Durbug of Awantipora , Naikoo has been listed as a category “A++” militant, which is given to the most-wanted militants in the Valley. He took over as chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen in the Valley after the killing of his associate Sabzar Bhat in May last year.

“Naikoo is now considered to be the overall commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) for the entire Valley. In the last one year, the security forces cornered him many times but each time he has managed to escape,” said a central security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

 

The officer added that Naikoo has assiduously cultivated an image of a moderate militant.

“Last year Naikoo released a video saying he would welcome the return of Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley and claimed that militants were not enemies of the Pandits,” added the official.

Two of the closest associates of Naikoo, Altaf Kachroo and Saddam Peddar, have been killed by the security forces. Naikoo is also believed to be behind the revival of the “Gun Salute” that militants give to their fallen comrades at their funeral.

 

“He has been seen firing in air during the funerals of dead militants as a tribute,” said another security official.

The security officials also believe Naikoo has managed to draft many young people from south Kashmir into militancy due to his image. The abduction of the kin of policemen started soon after Naikoo’s father was taken into custody.

In a fresh audio message released on Friday evening, Naikoo reiterated his threat to the police, asking them not to be ‘Indian agents’.

[Kool_SRG]

Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Riyaz Naikoo, Most Wanted, Killed In Jammu And Kashmir

Naikoo was killed during an anti-terrorist operation conducted by the Army and J&K Police in the Beighpura area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district

Srinagar:

Riyaz Naikoo, one of Kashmir's most wanted terrorists and the commander of terror group Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed during an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district this morning.

Naikoo was killed during an anti-terrorist operation conducted by the Army and J&K Police in the Beighpura area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. A second terrorist, believed to be an accomplice of Naikoo, was also killed in the encounter.

The operation was one of three separate anti-terror ops launched in the south Kashmir area. Two other terrorists were killed in another encounter in Sharshali village of the district's Pampore area.

As the encounter involving Naikoo, 32, began at 9 am, mobile internet services were suspended across all 10 districts of Kashmir Valley. Mobile internet services remain suspended as authorities look to control any backlash from Naikoo's killing.

Riyaz Naikoo, who had a bounty of Rs 12 lakh on his head, was regarded as a key target for India once he took charge of the Hizbul Mujahideen.

According to SP Vaid, former Director General of J&K Police, Naikoo was the most wanted terrorist after former Hizbul chief Burhan Wani, who was killed in an encounter in July 2016.

Born in the south Kashmir area, Naikoo was a mathematics school teacher who became a terrorist in 2012. Wanted in 11 terror-related cases, he became "head of operations in Kashmir" after taking over from Yaseen Ittoo, a top terrorist killed in an encounter in September 2017.

Naikoo played a key role in using social media to indoctrinate and recruit young Kashmiri men into terrorism, as per the police. He was also involved in a number of others cases, including the killing of special police officers (SPOs) and threating J&K Police officials into resignation.

A 2017 Intelligence Bureau report described Naikoo as "one of the most experienced Hizbul commanders" and a "very tech-savvy" terrorist, who played the role of facilitator and motivator.

Earlier today J&K Police tweeted: "Contact established in the third operation at Awantipur. Top terrorist commander is trapped. Exchange of fire on. Details shall follow".

Minutes earlier the police tweeted: "Third operation launched by Awantipur Police last night on a specific input too is in progress at Beigpora Awantipora. Senior officers monitoring since last night".

Over the past month at least 22 members of the country's security forces, including army officers, have been killed in the Kashmir Valley.

This sudden spike in encounters, coming amid reports of infiltration by highly-trained terrorists from Pakistan, poses a major security challenge even as the country fights the COVID-19 crisis.

On Sunday two senior Army officers - a colonel and a major - were among five security personnel killed in action during an encounter in Handwara in J&K's Kupwara district. A sub-inspector and two soldiers also lost their lives.

On Monday, there was an attack on a CRPF (central reserve police force) team in the same area that led to three personnel being killed.

[Kool_SRG]

[JANASENA]

[JANASENA]

[dewarist]

One less burden terminated from the earth.

[Sachin200]

@JaiTDP @Mirage 

Liberal media response 

[perugu_vada]

Odiyamma 30yrs k leader ah, ye range lo ye age nunchi brain wash chesaro ante veedini

[emitlu]

@TrollBait iyyooo manodni esssesarree iyyyo iyyyo

[pahelwan]

Awesome. Ade state govt undo unte vadini vidichipetevalu Union territory lavarti grudhalo bomb petti lepestaru

[Everydayrunner]

There are 100s like these terrorists.. the entire Kashmir valley is corrupted by such jihadis..

 

[libraguy863]

godava vadilindi

[sattipandu]

@TrollBait callling.......

[MRI]

neney go ahead cheppina.. list inka vundi..