NEW DELHI: A six-hour fire-fight in the Bemina neighbourhood of Srinagar ended on Sunday evening with the killing of Mohammad Wasim, central Kashmir commander of the Pakistan-based terrorist group, Al-Badr. Wanted for a series of murders, including the brutal execution of four civilians this May, Wasim was among the longest-serving Pakistani nationals in terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Wasim's killing is a significant blow to the Al-Badr, which after the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, is the third most powerful group in the State.

Many aliases

Operating under the aliases `Sain', `Shaheen Bhai' and `Jatoi,' Wasim is believed to have joined the jihad as an Al-Badr foot soldier over six years ago, when he was in his late teens. His long experience made him an `asset' for the organisation.

Sources told The Hindu that Wasim had been operating under cover in Srinagar for some months and had obtained forged identification papers. Using his newly acquired cover, of a Srinagar businessman named Fayyaz Ahmad Rather, Wasim was attempting to set up infrastructure for Al-Badr's operations outside Jammu and Kashmir, especially in New Delhi. While the enterprise does not appear to have reached an advanced stage, the fact that it was initiated suggests that Al-Badr, like other major terrorist groups, is seeking to expand its reach and capabilities.

Prior to this task, Wasim had focussed his energies on intimidating rural communities in the Harwan mountain range, which lies east of Srinagar and is a key infiltration and escape route for jihadist groups active in central Kashmir.

Although the Al-Badr executed several low-grade attacks on security force convoys moving in and out of Srinagar, its focus was on keeping the Harwan ranges secure for terrorist organisations by targeting figures in the Gujjar pastoral community, who were hostile to Islamists.

On May 17, for example, Wasim's group murdered four civilians in the Dard Khour forests, some 35 km from Srinagar. Ghulam Qadir Gujjar, a local National Conference activist, was assassinated along with associates Mohammad Rafiq, Mukhtar Ahmad and Mohammad Aslam. The brutality of the killings — the victims had their throats slit after a prolonged knife-point torture — terrorised residents of Harwan's isolated hamlets, most of which are at considerable distances from the nearest police or military facilities.

Police targeted

Wasim's al-Badr squad had also targeted police personnel with links in the Gujjar community in the Harwan mountains.

Earlier this year, the group murdered Head Constable Ali Mohammad along with his son in the Dara hamlet of Harwan, again by slitting their throats. An Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, also named Ali Mohammad, was subsequently killed by Wasim's squad near Nishat, on the fringes of Srinagar.

Two Special Police Officers, volunteers who are paid a small stipend to defend village communities against terrorist attack, were also killed by al-Badr as part of its campaign against pro-India figures amongst the Harwan Gujjars.

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