Aka HM, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
Description: Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) was designated as an FTO on August 17, 2017. The group was formed in 1989 and is one of the largest and oldest militant groups operating in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. HM is led by Mohammad Yusuf Shah, also known as Syed Salahuddin, and officially supports the liberation of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir from Indian control and its accession to Pakistan, although some cadres are pro-independence. The group focuses its attacks on Indian security forces and politicians in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and has conducted operations jointly with other Kashmiri militants. The group is made up primarily of ethnic Kashmiris.
Activities: HM has claimed responsibility for several attacks in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. In May 2015, HM claimed an attack on Indian security forces in Kupwara that killed three Indian troops, according to the targeted forces. HM launched additional attacks against Indian security forces in 2015 and 2016. On May 1, 2017, HM killed seven people – including five policemen – when it attacked a bank van carrying cash in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. On August 29, 2018, HM reportedly killed four policemen in Shopian district in the Indian state Jammu and Kashmir. On September 21, 2018, HM claimed responsibility for abducting and killing three police officials in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
In March 2019, Indian officials accused HM of being behind a grenade attack on a Jammu bus stand that killed a teenager and injured 32 others. In June, two Indian soldiers were killed and six others injured when an alleged HM militant attacked their patrol with a VBIED. HM has also reportedly been specifically targeting non-locals in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir and is suspected by police of having killed five Bengali laborers and a truck driver in October 2019.
Strength: Precise numbers are unknown.
Location/Area of Operation: Jammu and Kashmir
Funding and External Aid: Sources of support are unknown, but HM is suspected to receive some funding from sources in Pakistan as well as from local fundraising.
