SRINAGAR(PTD: India’s security forces combing the Kashmir valley to flush out Muslim secessionists, claim to have ‘effectively broken” the backbone of the Al Jehad group with the nabbing of almost the entire top hierarchy of pro-pak outfit.

A defence ministry spokesman said here on July 8 that the operation against the armed militants and their collaborators and supporters would be further intensified.

In a raid on Wednesday, troops captured five top Al Jehad militants including its “divisional commander™ for the districts of Baramulla and Kupwara and rescued three functionaries of Baramulla district held host them.

Those captured have been identified as Abdul Qayoom Bidar, divisional commander for Baramulla and Kupwara, Mohammad Yousuf Wani, deputy district commander, Dawood Ahmad Darand Abdul Hamid Dar, both company commanders, and Majid Dar, Chief Motivator and recruiter for Al Jehad, the spokesman said.

Their interrogation is likely to yield some “vital clues” about the activities, contacts and collaborators of the militant outfit, headed.

The troops claim to have captured two self-styled supreme commanders of the outfit Sheikh Abdul Aziz and Altaf Alamgir on May 2122.

Two district commanders of the outfit were killed and yet another top militant was arrested during these operations.

The army also raided the main arms dump of the outfit in south Kashmir on May 23 and recovered the “single largest” collection of arms, ammunition and explosives.

The spokesman said that out of 11 militants killed in an army operation at Malangam Bandipuron July 5,two top militants have been identified as Shaurat Bokhani, first deputy commander-in-chief and Manzoor Khushu, district commander, Aloosa Malangam, of the other pro Pakistan militant outfit, “AL Barak”

The five other militants killed in this operation have now been “positively” identified as foreign mercenaries, presumably Afghans, who had come to the valley to give a fillip to the waning militancy.

The spokesman said the army. Authorities have acknowledged and appreciated the cooperation the common Kashmiris were extending to the troops in helping them nab the militants everywhere in the valley.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 16, 1993