18 terrorists, including JeM ultras, eliminated post suicide attack, says Army
A joint team of security forces achieved a major success on Monday when they eliminated one of the “main conspirators” of the February 26 Pulwama terror attack on a CRPF convoy.
Jaish-e-Mohammed local commander Mudasir Khan, alias Mohd Bhai, a low profile trained electrician, was eliminated in a fierce gunfight in the Tral area of South Kashmir’s Pulwama late on Sunday.
Addressing a hurriedly called Press conference in Srinagar, GoC 15 Chinar Corps Lt Gen KJS Dhillon, accompanied by IG Kashmir SP Pani and IG CRPF Zulfiqar Hussain said Mudasir Khan has been eliminated in the encounter.
He said Mudasir was the “main conspirator” of the attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama. His elimination has caused a major dent to the Jaish leadership in the Valley.
Claiming that the security forces are pulling out all stops to prevent Pulwama repeat, Lt Gen Dhillon said, “We have really gone behind JeM across Kashmi.” In the last three weeks, “We have eliminated 18 terrorists, out of which 14 were JeM cadre, including 6 top commanders,” he added.
“Operations against foreign mercenaries and JeM terrorists will continue till we kill all of them,” he added.
The fierce gunfight, which lasted several hours in Pinglish area of Tral, erupted soon after joint teams of security forces had cordoned off the area in Tral after receiving a specific input about the presence of JeM terrorists in the area on Sunday.
The security forces eliminated two Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists without suffering any collateral damage.
The bodies of the two terrorists, charred beyond recognition, were recovered from the encounter site, on Monday morning.
The identity of the slain terrorist was established with the help of his family members.
Official sources claimed that 23-year-old Mudasir, an electrician with a graduate degree and a resident of Pulwama, reportedly arranged the vehicle and explosives used in the terror strike”.
A resident of Mir Mohalla of Tral, Mudasir joined the JeM 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 terror group’s revival in Kashmir.
After Tantray was killed in December 2017, Mudasir disappeared from his home on January 14, 2018, and has been active since then.
Suicide attacker Adil Ahmed Dar, who rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a bus in the CRPF convoy on February 14, had been in constant contact with Mudasir, officials said.
IG Kashmir SP Pani said one of the terrorists killed has been identified as “Code Khalid”, believed to be a Pakistani.
Zulfiqar Hussain, IG CRPF, said the Tral encounter could not be called an “avenge” of the Pulwama terror attack as the CRPF had lost several men. He said, “Our job is still not done. All those people who had supplied explosives, provided logistics and radicalised youth would be dealt with.”
According to the police records, both the slain terrorists were affiliated with JeM and were wanted for their complicity in terror crimes.
A police spokesman said, “Both terrorists were involved in planning and executing several terror attacks. Mudasir was involved in attack on a CRPF camp in Lethpora last year.”
The National Investigation Agency, which is probing the Pulwama attack, had raided Mudasir’s residence.