Jaish Terrorist, Main Pulwama Conspirator, Killed In Kashmir Encounter

The "main conspirator" in the terror attack in Pulwama is among the two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral area in south Kashmir on Sunday.

Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias 'Mohd Bhai' is suspected to have arranged the vehicle and explosives used in the suicide attack on February 14 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed. 

"Arms and ammunition including assault rifles were recovered from the site of encounter. All these materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror cases," the statement added.

News agency PTI, quoting officials, reported that Khan had been in constant contact with suicide attacker Adil Ahmed Dar, who exploded a car packed with explosives near a convoy of the CRPF or Central Reserve Police Force convoy. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the Pulwama terror attack, carried out searches at his residence on February 27.

The 23-year-old terrorist was an electrician with a graduate degree and a resident of Pulwama. He was recruited by Noor Mohammed Tantrey, alias ''Noor Trali'', who is believed to have played a role in the terror group's revival in the Kashmir valley, PTI reported.

He is also believed to be involved in the terror strike at the army camp in Sunjawan in February 2018, in which six personnel and a civilian were killed. Khan was also involved in the Lethpora attack on a CRPF camp in January 2018 that left five CRPF personnel dead.

Mudasir Ahmed Khan was killed along with a Pakistani terrorist during the operation in Pinglish area of Tral in Pulwama district. The operation was launched after the security forces received intelligence inputs about their presence in the area.

In response to the Pulwama attack, the Indian Army had increased anti-terror operation in Kashmir and said it "eliminated the Jaish leadership in the Valley within 100 hours" of the attack. "We were tracking the Jaish-e-Mohammed leadership. We are happy to inform that we eliminated the Jaish leadership in the Valley, which was controlled by Pakistan," Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, Corps Commander of Chinar Corps, Indian Army, had said then.