Srinagar: In a swift operation, the Jammu and Kashmir Police eliminated Monday two top commanders of The Resistance Force (TRF). The TRF is a shadow outfit of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). The group was responsible for several killings in the city and motivating the youth to join terror ranks, a senior police official said.
Abbas Sheikh, one of the longest surviving militants and chief of the TRF and his deputy Saqib Manzoor were killed in a shootout with police personnel at Aloochi Bagh in the city, the official said. “We had information about their presence in the area. Ten jawans of police dressed in civvies quickly surrounded the area. They challenged the terrorists, who opened fire. In the retaliatory firing, the two were killed,” IGP Kashmir zone Vijay Kumar told reporters.
“The killing of Sheikh and Manzoor was a major success for the security forces. At the behest of Sheikh, Manzoor had carried out several killings. They had spread terror in the area,” Kumar added.
The police official said the people in the area were fed up as the two were motivating youngsters to join terror ranks.
“We appeal to the people to prevent their children from joining terrorists. If they have already joined, please bring them back (to the mainstream). We will welcome them,” said Kumar.
Sheikh, who was earlier with Hizbul Mujahideen, had defected to TRF two years ago. According to security officials, Sheikh was the mastermind behind most of the killings undertaken by his outfit in the past one year.
Manzoor, a post-graduate student when he joined the TRF last year, quickly rose through the ranks as he was believed to have executed some of the killings in and around Srinagar at Sheikh’s behest.
