SRINAGAR: A top commander from the largest rebel group in Indian-administered Kashmir was killed in a gun battle with government forces on Friday, police said.
Young and media savvy, Burhan Wani was a top figure in Hizbul Mujahideen and had a one million rupee ($14,900) bounty on his head
Wani, 22, joined the rebel movement at the age of 15 and in recent years had been behind a huge recruitment drive to the group’s ranks, attracting young and educated Kashmiris to the decades-old fight for independence of the restive disputed region.
Viewed locally as a hero, his death sparked protests in nearby Anantnag town, with hundreds taking to the streets shouting independence slogans and lauding Wani as a revolutionary, witnesses said.
Two of Wani’s associates were also killed in the gun battle in southern Kokernag village, police said.
“It is a huge success for security forces. It will dent the strength of HM in the (Kashmir) valley,” the inspector general of police for the region, Javaid Gillani, told AFP.
“It was a specific operation based on intelligence we had on him,” Gillani said.
The son of a school principal, Wani regularly posted videos and pictures of Hizbul Mujahideen fighters on social media.
“(Wani) had become a big inspiration for local youth to join the militancy,” a senior police officer said requesting anonymity.
Hizbul Mujahideen is one of several rebel groups fighting for Kashmiri independence or a merger with Pakistan, a cause that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, mostly civilians, since 1989.
Around half a million Indian troops are deployed in the Himalayan territory, which is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety.
Top separatist leader killed in Kashmir
Top separatist leader killed in Kashmir
