A Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) commander who was shot dead in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district on Friday afternoon had used civilians as a human shield when he was cornered by security forces.
After being zeroed in by security forces, Usman, a terrorist of Pakistani origin, took the inmates of the house where he had taken shelter hostage, attempting to exploit the situation to evade capture. "However, police personnel outsmarted him, rescuing the hostages and neutralising the terrorist," said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kathua, Mohita Sharma.
Usman, who entered India in 2024, operated in the Bani-Bhillawar belt, carving out hideouts in dense forests and steep mountains. He was involved in six terror incidents, leading to the deaths of both civilians and security force personnel.
He frequently used natural caves as hideouts to evade detection and plan attacks. Security forces had been conducting relentless searches in the Bani and Bhillawar areas of Kathua district for days, but Usman kept evading capture. However, on January 7, the forces busted three of his hideouts in the mountainous Bhillawar region.
Intelligence revealed that with his hideouts busted, Usman was forced to take shelter in villagers' homes - a move he had previously avoided.
On Friday afternoon, security forces received intelligence about Usman's presence in a house in Bhanetar village, prompting a swift operation. "As security personnel approached, Usman opened fire and took a family hostage to evade capture," informed SSP Kathua.
A small group of personnel managed to enter the house, snatched his weapon, rescued the civilians, and eliminated the threat, ending Usman's reign of terror.
