Zakir Musa’s successor, Kashmir Al-Qaida chief was killed in an encounter by security forces

Hamid Lelhari, the Kashmir al-Qaida chief, has been gunned down in the hour long operation of the security forces in Awantipora yesterday. A native of Pulwama, Hamid was named the leader of al-Qaida’s Kashmir unit, also known as Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, after the death of Zakir Musa early this year.

The other
two killed in yesterday’s operation were two of Hamid’s local helpers.
According to police, arms and ammunition were recovered from the site.

Zakir Musa
was a former Hizbul Mujahideen commander and also the founder of the Indian
wing of al-Qaida. Musa split with Mujahideen over Kashmir issue. After Burhan
Wani’s death, he became the chief of Mujahideen.

After his
death, AGH released a 12-minute video announcing Abdul Hameed Lelhari, as the
local commander.

The security
operation started early on Tuesday morning. The identities of the slain
terrorists have been confirmed on Wednesday. The militants were allegedly
responsible for the killing of two brothers of the Gujjar community in Kashmir
in August this year.