After a fierce gunfight, Mohammad Usman, nephew of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad’s leader Masood Azhar, and another terrorist were gunned down by security forces in Chankitar Tral area of Pulwama district in South Kashmir on Tuesday. The Pulwama encounter started earlier in the day when security forces, including Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group of the state police and the CRPF, started a cordon-and-search operation in the area after getting information about the presence of militants.
While police said they were in the process of establishing the identity of the slain terrorists, the JeM has confirmed that one of the slain men was nephew of Masood Azhar who had set up the JeM with help of Pakistan’s ISI.
The other terrorist has been identified as Showkat Ahmad.
Charred bodies of the terrorists were recovered from the encounter site and searches in the area are continuing.
The police said an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) rifle had been recovered from the encounter site.
Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Swayam Prakash Pani confirmed that the bodies of two terrorists had been recovered, and said this module was responsible for recent terror attacks.
There were rumours that a sniper rifle was also recovered from the encounter spot but there was no official confirmation on this at the time of writing.