Sources in the security establishment said that while the immediate leadership crisis is bound to throw Hizbul's plans in a sort of disarray, there could still be a backlash from other Hizbul commanders down the hierarchy or even by Pakistani outfits like Jaish e Mohammad or Lashker e Taiba, to "avenge" Naikoo's death with a spectacular strike

by Bharti Jain

NEW DELHI: Even as latest inputs suggest attempts by terrorists to step up strikes in J&K coinciding with the anniversary of Battle of Badr due on May 11, the security forces have put the prime local terrorist outfit in Kashmir — Hizbul Mujahideen — on the backfoot by neutralising it’s top commander Riyaz Naikoo.

Sources in the security establishment said that while the immediate leadership crisis is bound to throw Hizbul's plans in a sort of disarray, there could still be a backlash from other Hizbul commanders down the hierarchy or even by Pakistani outfits like Jaish e Mohammad or Lashker e Taiba, to "avenge" Naikoo's death with a spectacular strike.

The past couple of weeks have witnessed heightened terrorist activity, with the Army and CRPF suffering reverses and fatalities in Handwara and Kupwara. The Central security establishment sees the spike in terror attacks in Kashmir as a phenomenon usual to Ramzan, when most terrorist groups get active and step up operations in the Valley. “This was not the case last year as the forces were on the top and neutralising terrorists in good numbers. With the anniversary of Battle of Badr approaching on May 11 (17th day of Ramzan), we expected terrorists to attempt more strikes as it is widely believed by outfits like Jaish e Mohammad and Lashker e Taiba — now operating under the garb of The Resistance Front (TRF) — that they go to “Jannat” if they kill non-believers in this period. But the forces decided to pre-empt the terrorists by going for intelligence-based strikes, so as to put them on the backfoot and upset their designs,” said a senior Central para-military officer.

It is as part of this strategy that four terrorists including Naikoo were killed on Wednesday in search and cordon operations launched at Beigpora and Awantipora. In fact, till May 6 this year, 68 terrorists have been neutralised, including 20 from Hizbul Mujahideen, 10 from Lashker e Toiba, 8 from Jaish e Mohammad, 3 from Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, 3 from Islamic State Jammu & Kashmir (ISJK), and 24 being unidentified. In whole of 2019, 156 terrorists were killed.

"Precise intelligence regarding Naikoo's presence at a house in Beigpora was made available to the forces — Army, 185th and 130th battalion of CRPF and J&K police — on Tuesday by a source close to him and they lost no time in moving in on him. A security cordon was laid last night, ensuring that local civilians were kept at a distance as forces surrounded the hideout and initiated an encounter. All escape routes were blocked even as stone-pelting by locals was reported in nearby areas. Naikoo had eluded us many time earlier, managing to escape from the encounter site with the help of locals. But pinpointed intelligence and ensuring that people remained outside the security cordon helped us get it right this time. Naikoo was killed around 1.30 pm on Wednesday, giving us our big success, during Ramzan,” said a senior CRPF officer.

“While we have suffered some reverses in the recent days, we will soon make the scores even. There will be retaliation ahead and sustained operations by the forces to neutralise the terrorists,” added another officer.

However, even though the forces have struck a major blow by killing the Hizbul top commander, officers warned that they cannot be complacent as he is not the only terror mastermind in the Valley. "There are other Hizbul commanders who may try to hit back and fill the void. Also, Jaish e Mohammad and Lashkar e Taiba which had good networking with Naikoo may like to "avenge" his killing with a spectacular strike," said a senior CRPF officer.

On civilian casualties caused in the recent terror strikes, the officer said it was not unusual for terrorists to use Kashmiri people as shields, which sometimes put their lives in peril.