MojNews- Indian forces have killed a top militant commander and his two associates in a counterinsurgency operation in Indian-controlled Kashmir , police said Wednesday.

Hamid Lelhari and his associates were killed Tuesday evening in a gunfight that erupted after Indian security forces launched a counterinsurgency operation in southern Awantipora area, said Dilbagh Singh, chief of police in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Police say Lelhari became the operations chief of Ansar Ghawzat-ul-Hind , an affiliate of the Al-qaeda militant group, after Indian troops killed a top militant, Zakir Musa, last year.

Singh said the group has been wiped out in Kashmir with Tuesday’s killings.

Indian forces suffered no casualties or injuries in the fighting, he said.