Jaish chief’s nephew killed in Tral encounter?

NEW DELHI/ SRINAGAR: At least two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, including a highly trained sniper, who could be the nephew of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of south Kashmir on Tuesday. By late evening, forces had managed to recover two charred bodies and an M4 carbine from their hideout. The carbine is used by special forces, para commandos and marines across the globe.

While the identities of the terrorists were not confirmed officially till late evening, multiple sources said one of those killed could be Usman Haidar, a nephew of the Jaish chief. Usman was reportedly the deputy chief of Jaish’s sniper squad. The other could be Showkat Ahmed, a Kashmiri.

Earlier this month, an input with the intelligence agencies had suggested that one of Azhar’s nephews named Usman (codename: Abu Huzaifa) was about to infiltrate into the Valley. Late on Tuesday, Jaish released a statement, acknowledging that its Mujahideens, including Usman, were killed by Indian forces and vowed to seek revenge.

The operation came in the backdrop of inputs about four trained snipers being active in the Valley. On Saturday, an assistant sub-inspector of the CISF, Rajendra Prasad, was killed by what the security forces said a ‘sniper-type’ attack on the outskirts of Srinagar.

The operation was conducted by a joint team of CRPF, RR and SOG. According to officials, a cordon-and-search operation was launched in Chankitar of Tral after credible inputs about the presence of Jaish operatives in the area were received earlier in the day.

During the search operation, the hiding terrorists fired on the search party. Security forces retaliated, leading to an encounter. Meanwhile, locals began to pelt stones on the forces to disrupt the encounter. Security forces then fired teargas smoke shells to disperse protesting locals. Authorities also requested the locals to not venture inside the encounter zone since such an area could prove dangerous due to stray explosive materials.

“People were requested to cooperate with police till the area was completely sanitized and cleared of all explosive materials, if any,” a senior official said.
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, Swayam Prakash Pani confirmed that two militant bodies were recovered. “This was the module responsible for recent stand-off attacks,” he said.
The recovery of M4 carbine is being seen as a cause of concern as earlier slain Hizbul commander Sameer Tiger was seen posing with a carbine, which is used by NATO forces.
Last November, Jaish chief Azhar’s first nephew Talha Rasheed, the then divisional commander of the terrorist outfit in south Kashmir, was killed by security forces along with two other local militants during an encounter at Kandi Aglar village in Pulwama district.

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