Srinagar, Dec 15: Zainapora hamlet in south Kashmir which was known as the hottest bed of militancy has no active militant now.
A senior police officer told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that with the killing of Feroz Ahmad Dar a resident of Heff Shopian in Pulwama encounter on Wednesday, the area has no active militant now and it has happened after around a decade now that “no militant from the area is active”.
He said that around 50 local youth from the Zainapora hamlet who had joined militant ranks have been killed in dozens of encounters in different areas of Kashmir.
“Our aim is to keep our youth away from militancy and in the last 5 years we have arrested dozens of OGWs who were released after proper counseling,” the police official said.
The militants from the hamlet who were killed after 2016 agitation include some top commanders like Zeenat-ul-Islam, Saddam Padder, Bilal Mohand, Zubair Wani, Aadil Bashir, Waseem Wani, Waseem Shah, Ishfaq Dar, Feroz Dar and others.
Heff, according to officials, was the most active village of the area from where around seven local youth have been killed since 2016. Besides five from Sugan, four from Awneera village were also killed in the same period—(KNO)
