ISLAMABAD – Indian troops killed four Kashmiri fighters in gun battles inIndian-occupied Kashmir on Wednesday, including the commander of thebiggest separatist group fighting New Delhi in the disputed Himalayanregion, a police official said.
Hundreds of Indian soldiers launched an operation late on Tuesday afterreceiving intelligence that Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo washiding in a village in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district.
Authorities also disabled mobile internet across the Kashmir region earlyon Wednesday to forestall large crowds from gathering in the streets tomourn his killing.
“He was trapped in a house and early today a gun battle took place duringwhich he and his associate were killed,” Kashmir’s Inspector General ofPolice, Vijay Kumar, told *Reuters*.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
Two fighters were killed in another gun battle nearby on Wednesday, Kumaradded.
For decades, separatists have fought an armed conflict against Indian rulein occupied Kashmir, with the majority of them wanting independence for theHimalayan region, or to join Pakistan.
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Naikoo, 35, had joined the fighters in 2012, two years after around 100people were killed by troops during a restive summer marked by protests andviolence.ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER AD
A former maths teacher with a bounty of 1.2 million rupees ($15,800) on hishead, Naikoo was an aide to Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani who waskilled in July 2016, leading to months of unrest. “It is a major successfor the troops in Kashmir,” Kumar said.
Amid a nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Indiantroops have intensified operations in occupied Kashmir, which was splitinto two federally administered territories last August.
Since late March, Indian forces have killed 36 fighters, losing around 20soldiers, including a high-ranking army officer, during the same period,according to official data.
