Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist and the mastermind of February 14 Pulwama terror attack Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias ‘Mohd Bhai’ was among the two terrorists killed in the encounter in Tral’s Pinglish area in Pulwama district, officials said on Monday. The encounter lasted past midnight.
Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Pinglish after receiving specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the area. The operation turned into an encounter after the terrorists opened fire at the search party who retaliated, the officials said.
Lesser-known JeM terrorist Khan has been identified as the brain behind the audacious terror strike in Pulwama that left 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel dead on February 14. Suicide attacker Adil Ahmed Dar, who blew the explosive-laden vehicle next to the bus, had been in constant contact with Khan, officials said. Piecing together evidence gathered so far, security officials said 23-year-old Khan, an electrician with a graduate degree and a resident of Pulwama, arranged the vehicle and explosives used in the terror strike. A resident of Mir Mohalla of Tral, Khan joined the JeM sometime in 2017 as an overground worker and was later drawn into the terror outfit by Noor Mohammed Tantrey, alias ‘Noor Trali’, who is believed to have helped the terror group’s revival in the Kashmir Valley. After Tantray was killed in December 2017, Khan disappeared from his home on January 14, 2018, and was active since then.