In a major blow to the Jaish-e- Mohammad, Noor Mohammad Tantray, considered the brain behind the terror outfit's revival in the Valley, was killed in an encounter at Samboora area in South Kashmir's Pulwama district, police said today.
The body of 47-year-old Tantray was recovered this morning after an encounter broke out in Pulwama during the night. He was wanted in various terror incidents earlier this year, including a suicide attack at the BSF camp at Srinagar airport.
Terming his killing as a "significant breakthrough", the police said that a crack team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, acting on a specific input, cordoned off a cluster of houses at Samboora which resulted in a fierce gun battle leading to the elimination of the top JeM commander.
Tantray was a convict in a case registered in 2003 in Delhi and was serving his sentence at Central Jail, Srinagar, until he was out on parole in 2015.
Consequently, he remained in Tral at South Kashmir and became a major overground worker of the JeM in the region, they said.
In July 2017, after the Aripal encounter in which three JeM terrorists were killed, Tantray went underground and soon became the key man of the terror outfit in coordinating and organising attacks at different places.
He was termed by the police as the "chief architect" of the BSF camp attack near Srinagar airport this year besides being wanted in a number terror offences in South and Central Kashmir.
Hailing from Tral area of south Kashmir, Tantray's death is being seen as a blow to the terror group as he was the key man in reviving the JeM in south and central Kashmir.
PTI
