Three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists, including Abdul Rasheed Ghazi alias Kamran, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the 14 February terror attack in Pulwama, have been gunned down in an encounter that went on for over 16 hours on Monday, 18 February.
A Pakistani national, Kamran is a well-known IED expert in the JeM.
An Army Major, three jawans, one policeman and one civilian were killed in the gun battle in Pulwama's Pinglan area – about 12 km from where Adil Dar drove his explosive-laden vehicle into a CRPF bus last week, killing 40 jawans.
At least nine security personnel, including a brigade commander and a lieutenant colonel and a deputy inspector general of the Jammu and Kashmir police, were injured.
Pulwama Terror Mastermind Gunned Down
According to The Times of India, Kamran trained Adil Dhar, the 22-year-old terrorist who allegedly carried out the Pulwama attack.
According to a report in The Print, Ghazi had been sent in to "avenge the death" of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar's nephews – Usman and Talha Rasheed – who were killed in 2017 and 2018 respectively by security forces in the valley.
“Kamran’s role in the February 14 suicide bombing of a CRPF convoy was under the scanner of investigators.”Senior police official to PTI
The second terrorist has been identified as Hilal Ahmad, a local recruited by the terror group. The identity of the third is being ascertained.
4 Army Men, 1 Policeman Martyred in the Gun Battle
The slain soldiers were identified as Major VS Dhoundiyal, Havaldar Sheo Ram and Sepoys Hari Singh and Ajay Kumar.
The 33-year-old Major had joined the Army in 2011 and belonged to village Dangwal in Dehradun, Uttarakhand. He is survived by his wife. He died due to gunshot wounds in the neck and abdomen, and was declared dead at 2:20 am.
Havaldar Ram, 36, had joined Army in 2000 and hailed from Jhunjhunu, in Rajasthan. He is survived by his wife and a son.
Twenty-six-year-old Hari Singh belonged to Rewari in Haryana. He joined the Army in 2011 and is survived by his wife and son.
Sepoy Ajay Kumar hailed from village Bastikri in Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh. The 27-year-old had joined the Army in 2012 and is survived by his wife and son.
Their mortal remains were flown for the last rites to their native places, where they would be laid to rest with full military honours.
The injured included DIG (south Kashmir) Amit Kumar, who received a gunshot wound in the abdomen, and a brigade commander, who was hurt in the leg.
Encounter Broke Out in Early Hours of Monday
The encounter broke out in the early hours of Monday, when security forces – Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) – surrounded Pinglan village after a tip-off about JeM militants hiding in the area.
Militants fired at forces as the searches got under way, triggering a gun battle, the officials said.
(With inputs from News18, IANS and ANI. This is a developing story. More details awaited.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)