Security forces on Monday morning eliminated the mastermind behind the 14 February Pulwama terror attack in an overnight operation which also left four Indian Army personnel dead.
Defence Ministry spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said: “One of the two slain Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists was a top commander and belonged to Pakistan.”
Though the identity of the two terrorists is yet to be confirmed, media reports said that one of the two was Kamran – a mastermind of the 14 February attack.
One AK-47 and one pistol have been recovered from the terrorists. The search operation continues.
The encounter started late on Sunday night in Pulwama’s Pinglana area after security forces surrounded the village following information of the presence of at least six JeM terrorists, including Abdul Rashid Gazi, who had infiltrated from Pakistan two months ago to train terrorists in RDX attacks.
“As the cordon was tightened, the holed-up militants fired triggering the gunfight,” the police said.
Four Indian Army soldiers, including a Major-rank officer, lost their lives in the gunfight.
Read More: Major among four Army personnel killed in Pulwama encounter
A soldier is reported to have suffered critical wounds during the encounter. The critically-injured soldier has been identified as Sepoy Gulzar Mohammad, who has been evacuated to army’s 92 Base Hospital at Srinagar.
A civilian, Mushtaq Ahmad, was injured during the gunfight when large number of stonepelters reached there and clashed with security forces.
The deaths of the soldiers is the second major loss for security force personnel in the Valley following the suicide bomb attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama’s Awantipora, which left 44 of the police personnel dead.
It was the worst-ever attack in Jammu-Kashmir since militancy erupted in the state in 1989.
Security forces involved in the Pinglana operation include 55 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Pinglana is about 10 kms from the suicide attack spot.