Army releases names of top 11 militants active in Kashmir: Here is the list

The army has released a list of 11 top militants in Jammu and Kashmir who it aims to “go after”.

The names were made public on Tuesday, four days after Hizbul Mujahideen’s Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Tral in south Kashmir, the hotbed of insurgency.

Local and foreign militants belonging to home-grown Hizbul, Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and some other outfits are active in the Valley, which is witnessing a fresh round of unrest.

Security forces have brought back search operations after several years as they have come under increased attacks in the Valley as well as the border.

The list carries the names and pictures of the militants along with the areas they are active in and the strikes carried out by them. Names of outfits and the militants’ ranks have also been shared.

The militants have been put in two categories – A and A++.

Reyaz Naikoo and Yasin Itoo, who are in the running to succeed Bhat, and Lashkar’s Kashmir “commander” Abu Dujana, a Pakistani national, are on the list.

Bhat is believed to have taken over after Burhan Wani was killed in a gun battle in last July, triggering violent street protests that left at least 100 people, most of them civilians, dead.

Before releasing the names, the army had said its strategy would be to go “after top commanders’’.

Police say at least 200 militants are active in Kashmir. Of these 110 are local and 99 among them are from south Kashmir.