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| Mastermind behind Pulwama attack killed in encounter: GoC 15 Corps | | 14 of 18 militants killed during last fortnight belong to JeM: Pani | | Ishtiyaq Ahmad
Early Times Report
srinagar, Mar 11: The mastermind of the February 14 Pulwama attack that left at least 40 CRPF personnel martyred has been killed in an encounter in the Tral area of South Kashmir. This was stated by the GoC 15 Corps, KJS Dhiloon during a presser here Monday. He was flanked by IGP Kashmir, SP Pani and IG CRPF Zulifkar Hassan.
The encounter in Pinglish area of Tral in south Kashmir's Pulwama district lasted past midnight in which Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militant Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias 'Mohd Bhai' was among the three militants killed.
They said that during the Pinglish encounter Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias Muhammad Bhai and another militant identified as Khalid of Pakistan were killed. They also claimed recovery of three weapons from the site of the encounter.
"He was the mastermind, rather the main conspirator of the Pulwama attack," GoC Dhillon said. "Earlier, on February 18, we killed Kamran, who was a Jaish militant too along with his close aide Rashid alias Gazi. Kamran was the chief operational commander of Jaish in Kashmir."
The encounter lasted past midnight. "The family members of Khan have taken his body," he said. Forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Pinglish after receiving specific intelligence about the presence of militants in the area.
He said that 23-year-old Khan, an electrician with a graduate degree and a resident of Pulwama, arranged the vehicle and explosives used in the strike.
A resident of Mir Mohalla of Tral, Khan joined the JeM sometime in 2017 as an overground worker and was later drawn into the terror outfit by Noor Mohammed Tantrey, alias 'Noor Trali', who is believed to have helped the JeM's revival in the Kashmir. After Tantray was killed in December 2017, Khan disappeared from his home on January 14, 2018, and was active since then.
Speaking on the occasion, IGP Kashmir said that forces have killed 18 militants in the past fortnight of which 14 belonged to Jaish, two to Lashkar-e-Toiba and two to Hizbul Mujahideen. Chipping in, the GoC said that more focus was on Jaish leadership and militants to ensure Pulwama like attacks don't re-occur.
The top forces' brass didn't reveal the actual number of militants operating in Kashmir and that there was a significant dip in the local militant recruitment in Kashmir. Asked about the convoy movement, the GoC Dhillon said that a people friendly convoy movement has been taking place to cause less trouble to civilians. "No harassment is being done to the local travellers," he said. |
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