Police had been after Riyaz Naikoo for six months, got to him through his close contacts

The elimination of India's most-wanted terrorist in south Kashmir -- Hizbul Mujahideen commander commander Riyaz Naikoo -- on Wednesday marked a big success for security forces.

A special team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police had been tracking Naikoo for almost six months.

He had over a dozen hideouts in the south Kashmir region, and was the longest surviving terror commander in Kashmir. He had to finally give up and give in when the police tracked down his closest contacts.

Media reports say the security forces approached the hideouts many times, but came back empty-handed.

Later, in house-to-house searches, two possible hideouts were marked.

The journey wasn't easy. When the two-day encounter started on Tuesday, one security agency pulled out, but the police remained.

The forces were sure he was in that house -- fully prepared for the possibility of underground tunnels in the house.

The breakthrough came just three days before Riyaz Naikoo was neutralised in Beighpora, when the forces picked up some of the contacts who were very close to him.

When the encounter finally happened, Riyaz Naikoo kept shifting from one place to another in the home in which he was surrounded.

His counter-attack was not up to the mark, and he was eventually killed.

Riyaz Naikoo had taken over as the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen after Burhan Wani was killed in a gunfight with the security forces in the Kokarnag area in Anantnag district on July 8, 2016.