Iran Press/Asia: In a big breakthrough, security forces on Monday gunned down top so- called Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group commander, Abdul Rasheed Ghazi alias Kamran, in a 12-hour-long encounter with multiple JeM terrorists in Pulwama area.
Ghazi was a Pakistani national and the mastermind behind the Pulwama attack.
Times of India had reported that Ghazi may still be in the Valley. In fact, Ghazi had a narrow escape during an encounter which took place days before the vehicle-borne IED attack on India's CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) convoy last Thursday. A local terrorist was killed together with a soldier in that encounter, reported the Economic Times.
Ghazi, who was an Afghan war veteran and an IED specialist, was the one who trained Adil Dar, the terrorist from Pulwama who drove the explosive-laden vehicle into the CRPF convoy.
Ghazi was one of the closest and most trusted aides of so-called Jaish-e-Mohammed group chief, Masood Azhar. He was believed to be in his mid-thirties and joined Jaish more than a decade ago. He had been trained in warfare techniques and IED preparation by the Taliban. He returned to Pakistan in 2011 after fighting the NATO forces in Federally Administered Tribal Area and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Since then, he has been the most sought after jihadi trainer who specializes in training in camps operated by Jaise and ISI across Pakistan, a source said. Ghazi was sent to the Valley after security forces killed Masood Azhar's nephew, Usman, who was a highly trained sniper. Soon after his killing, Jaish-e-Mohammed released a statement vowing to seek revenge.
Azhar had already been seething for revenge after the death of his first nephew Talha Rasheed who was killed in 2017. It is believed that Azhar sent Ghazi and two other top commanders to the Valley in the first week of December who then began to give final shape of a deadly plan.105/203.
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