Pulwama Masterminded, Another Terrorist Killed in Encounter; 4 Jawans Martyred
SRINAGAR : Two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants, including the commander who masterminded Thursday’s terror attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, have been killed in an encounter in the south Kashmir district, in which four army personnel were also martyred. Sources said
Kamran, a Pakistani terrorist believed to have plotted the terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers, and a local militant named Hilal have been killed in the gunfight in Pinglan area of Pulwama district. Another terrorist is still trapped, sources said.
The soldiers killed in the operation belonged to the 55 Rashtriya Rifles. According to sources a civilian was also killed in the encounter, said the police. A targeted operation was launched a little after midnight on a tip-off that three Jaish terrorists, including the handler of the Pulwama suicide bomber Adil Ahmed Dar, were hiding in Pinglan,The firing resumed around 9 am as the forces assessed that two or three Jaish terrorists were still hiding in the area.
Two soldiers have also been injured. The main target of the operation was Gazi, a terrorist believed to be the mastermind of the February 14 attack, the worst on security forces in Kashmir. On that day, Adil Ahmed Dar drove his car close to a CRPF convoy of 78 buses on the Jammu-Srinagar highway and detonated around 60 kg of RDX, killing over 40 personnel reporting to duty after leave. Gazi was the bomb-maker, believe investigators, sources told NDTV. Adil Ahmed Dar had joined the Pakistan-based terror group a year ago.
While the bodies of the two terrorists have been recovered, security forces are yet to confirm their identities. “The terrorists are believed to be linked to the February 14 car bombing. The exact identities of the two terrorists killed are being ascertained,” PTI quoted a defence spokesperson as saying.The four army personnel who were killed in action belonged to 55 Rashtriya Rifles.Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Pinglan area last night after receiving inputs about the presence of militants in the area, agency quoted a police official as saying. He said as the forces were conducting searches, the militants fired upon them, triggering a gun battle. A civilian was also reportedly killed but there was no confirmation so far agency reported.
Forty Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday when a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber rammed a vehicle carrying over 100 kg of explosives into their bus in Pulwama district. Personnel of the 55 Rashtriya Rifles, two batallions of the CRPF and the Special Operation Group of the Jammu and Kashmir police were involved in the encounter. (With Inputs from PTI).
