The mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack on a CRPF convoy has reportedly been killed in an encounter with security forces in Pinglan area of Pulwama district in South Kashmir on Monday. Another Jaish terrorist was also killed.
Kamran alias Ghazi Rasheed was the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack which took place on February 14.
According to police sources, Rasheed was a Pakistani "chief operational commander" of the Jaish-e-Mohammad. He was a dreaded terrorist, known for radicalizing, recruiting and training terrorists in the Kashmir Valley.
Rasheed, who was an Afghan war veteran and an IED specialist, was the one who trained Adil Dar, the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror commander who drove the explosive-laden vehicle into the CRPF convoy.
"Rasheed had trained the suicide bomber who had attacked the CRPF convoy with a car laden with explosives that led to the martyrdom of 40 soldiers," police officials said.
"Ghazi Abdul Rasheed infiltrated in mid December to Kashmir," officials added. The police believes that he had come to Kashmir as the militants the area were facing pressure from the forces.
Earlier today, four army men, including a Major, were also killed in the encounter that started in the early hours of the day. According to reports, a civilian was also killed.
The gunfight started late on Sunday after security forces, including the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), surrounded the village following a tip off that Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) militants -- the same group that carried out the February 14 attack leaving a toll 40 troopers -- were hiding in the area.
"As the cordon was tightened, the holed-up militants fired triggering the gunfight. Firing exchanges have again started at the encounter site," the police added.
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. It was the worst-ever attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in the state in1989.
(With inputs from agencies)
