Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar’s kin among three militants killed in Kashmir

Security forces in Kashmir achieved a major success on Wednesday by killing three militants, including kin of Pakistan based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Moulana Masood Azhar in southern Pulwama district.

Reports said Ismail alias Fauji Bhai, a close relative of Azhar, was an operational commander of the JeM in Kashmir and was believed to have been involved in planting the IED-laden car that was recently detected in Pulwama.

Sources said Ismail had also played a key role in the February 14, 2019 suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel and brought India and Pakistan - two nuclear-armed countries - almost to war.

“Ismail was sent to Kashmir by the Jaish in early 2018 after the killing of Talha Rasheed, another close relative of Masood Azhar in November 2017. He took over the reins of the Jaish in Kashmir this January after its chief Qari Mufti Yasir was killed by security forces,” they said.

Reports said the gunfight erupted in Astan Mohalla, Kangan area of Pulwama, 30 km from Srinagar after Army’s 55 Rashtriya Rifles and J&K police launched a cordon-and-search-operation in the area during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

“As the security forces zeroed in on a suspected house early morning, the hiding militants opened fire triggering a fierce gun battle,” a police official said and added three militants were killed in the gunfight while a soldier also sustained injuries.

The identity of two other slain militants was not ascertained. Since the past few weeks, police have not been revealing the identities of militants killed in encounters. They are buried away from their native villages with their family members being allowed to participate in the funerals, police said.

A senior police officer said that scouring of several “virtual mobile numbers”, social media accounts and emails led them to Ismail.

“He was an IED expert and was planning to carry out car bomb attacks on security forces. Last week, Ismail almost succeeded in his plans but it was detected on time in the wee hours on May 28. The plan of Ismail was to carry major suicide attack for which the responsibility would have been taken by ‘The Resistance Front’, a front propped up by Pakistan to avoid embarrassment at an international level,” he said.

Terming Ismail’s killing a major success, the officer said, “This would shatter the Jaish network in Kashmir and it will take them a long time to revive.”

This was the second gunfight in Pulwama within the past 24 hours as two militants of the Jaish were killed in a similar encounter in Tral area on Tuesday.

Increase in anti-militancy ops

There has been an increase in anti-militancy operations in the Valley since March. Since the lockdown, a total of 44 militants and two of their associates have been killed while 24 security forces personnel, including two in ceasefire violations, have lost their lives.

Since the beginning of this year, 82 militants have been killed across Kashmir in dozens of encounters with security forces and 154 militants were killed in gun battles across Kashmir in the first seven months of 2019.

In the next five months, only 20 militants were neutralised by the security forces as anti-insurgency operations almost came to a halt as security and communication clampdown was imposed to prevent civilian protests in the wake of revocation of Article 370 on August 5.

Last month, J&K police chief Dilbagh Singh had said that less than 240 militants were active in Kashmir.