Hizb Commander among 2 militants killed in Poonch

Jammu: The security forces on Monday killed a divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen while another militant was injured after an infiltration attempt was foiled, an official said.
The official said that with the foiling of this infiltration bid, a conspiracy by proscribed outfit to revive its activities in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district has also been thwarted.
“The body of Hizbul Commander Muneer Hussain was recovered along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition, while the body of another militant could not be retrieved as he managed to return to the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Degwar sector before falling on the ground. He is presumed dead,” said Jammu based Defence Spokesperson, Lt Col Suneel Bartwal.
Divulging more details, the spokesperson said Army and Special Operations Group (SoG) of Jammu & Kashmir Police launched a complete intelligence based operation about the chances of an infiltration.
“At approximately around 0200 hrs, during the night of 06/07 August 2023, alert troops in the Poonch Sector observed a suspicious movement of a group of two individuals trying to sneak across the Line of Control,” he said, adding, “Troops kept the movement of the infiltrating group under continuous observation through new generation electro optical devices and as both the infiltrators moved towards own LC, the ambushes challenged the infiltrators.”
On being challenged, the infiltrators opened fire on their own troops. In the ensuing firefight, one militant was shot dead and another injured. The injured militant managed to sneak into the forest close to the border, taking advantage of the thick foliage, rain and rocky outcrop. The area was immediately cordoned to prevent their escape across the Line of Control, the spokesperson said.
“Joint Search operation was launched after first light in which the dead body of one militant was recovered. The other one is also presumed to have been killed but his body has not recovered yet,” the officer said.
The slain militant was identified on the basis of Police records as Muneer Hussain resident of Bagyal Dara, Poonch. He was a dreaded militant, a Divisional Commander of Hizbul Mujahideen.
The individual had gone to the Pak occupied Jammu & Kashmir in 1990s and has masterminded a number of attacks on security forces, he said.
Inputs suggest that he was given the task of re-vitalizing the militancy related activities in South of Pir Panjal Ranges.
The search operations led to the recovery of one AK 56, one 9 mm Pistol with Silencer, one magazine of AK 56, 10 rounds of 7.62 mm, nine rounds of 9 mm, two hand grenades, eatables and medicines. Recovery of Pistol with Silencer indicates the individual was likely to be quite high in the Organizational setup
The operation has once again proven the existing synergy between all security agencies operating in this area and highlights the close coordination between them. This incident also highlights the adversary’s attempts of reviving militancy in South of Pir Panjal Ranges exploiting the terror veterans