SRINAGAR: The killing of six militants associated with a faction led by Zakir Musa in Tral area of southern Kashmir has weakened the group considerably as police has claimed that only four in the group are alive now.Jammu & Kashmir police official claimed that Musa’s faction operates as a group and has no organisational structure or support, which has dented their operational capabilities.Musa, originally a Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militant, shot to prominence in 2017, when in an unverified audio, he announced his intention of associating with the global movement of establishing Khilafat, loosely along the lines of Al-Qaeda. HM distanced from Musa’s stand, and later he too distanced himself from the group. Musa had joined HM under Burhan Wani in 2013, when he was 19 and is one of the longest surviving militants in the state right now.In 2017, a social media channel Al-Hurr media claiming association with Al-Qaeda platform, declared Musa as chief of Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind, which gained traction on social media. He also lashed out at Hurriyat leaders for lack of deliverance over the years and allegedly working at cross-purposes. Even though police is yet to ascertain the recent whereabouts of Musa, they claim that rest of the associates are from southern Kashmir.“Musa’s faction has only four people left, even though he has the potential to recruit. But he cannot make an impact on the ground because of lack of organisational support and the overall hot pursuit against militants,” a top police official, spearheading anti-militancy operations, told ET.After the funeral of six militants from Musa’s group in Tral, three youngsters from the same area went missing, who police suspect could have joined Musa. But the cops later said that two of them came back and only one is missing. This year around 176 locals have joined militant ranks.The armed forces launched Operation All Out after 2016 to wipe out militants from the state. Last year, 213 militants were killed, while this year till now, around 250 militants, including around 15 commanders, have been killed.“Musa is relevant in the battle of narratives and not in the battle on the ground. His group cannot have a long life but people will keep talking about him,” said another senior police official.