In a massive success to security forces of the country, Riyaz Naikoo – the top Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander has been killed by the Indian Armed Forces near a village near Pulwama on Wednesday.
According to the reports, the Islamic terrorist Riyaz Naikoo was trapped in a village during an overnight operation in Beighpora village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama. During the encounter last night, another unidentified terrorist was also killed by the security forces in the Awantipora area.
Riyaz Naikoo took over as the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen after the outfit’s poster boy and commander Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Kokarnag area in Anantnag district on July 8, 2016.
The dead Hizbul terrorist was quite active in the valley and responsible for various abductions and recruitment of fresh blood to the Hizbul Mujahideen over the years.
A joint team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army’s 55 Rashtriya Rifles and CRPF had launched a search operation in Beighpora after security agencies were a tipped-off about the presence of terrorists in the area. The operation was reportedly launched to track down Naikoo.
Riyaz Naikoo – one of the most wanted terrorists
The dreaded terrorist – Riyaz Naikoo is a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander. He had carried a reward of Rs 12 lakh on his head. The killing of Riyaz Naikoo is a big blow to the local terror groups active in the area, especially Hizbul Mujahideen. Riyaz Naikoo is among the oldest surviving members of the Hizbul Mujahideen.
Riyaz Naikoo is also responsible for holding the remaining faction of Hizbul together after it disintegrated when Zakir Musa broke away from the Hizbul ranks to form his own splinter group.
Musa had split from the Hizbul in 2017 and formed his own group called Ansar-Ghazwatul-Hind that claimed to be the Indian affiliate of the Al-Qaeda.
