Two terrorists from the Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) outfit were killed in an encounter by security forces Pulwama’s Tral on Tuesday. Media reports have claimed that one of the slain terrorists, Usman Haider, was the nephew of Jaish-e-Mohammad head, Masood Azhar.
According to reports, a group of terrorists were tracked to a residential house in Chankitar area of Tral on Tuesday. The terrorists reportedly opened fire at the security forces, leading to an encounter. The security forces had also reportedly cautioned the locals to stay away from the encounter zone.
Swayam Prakash Pani, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, had later confirmed that the bodies of the two terrorists have been recovered. He also reportedly added that the killed terrorists were a part of the module responsible for recent stand-off attacks in and around Tral.
Reports say that while the house the terrorists were hiding in was reduced to a rubble following the fierce encounter, the recovered bodies were charred. It was also claimed that one UGBL-Barrel rifle has also been recovered from the encounter site.
As per reports, security forces in the area were concerned about repeated sniper attacks by JeM terrorists which had claimed the lives of 3 security personnel and injured 5. The forces had reportedly stated that a team of 4 snipers had infiltrated across from the LoC and were carrying out the attacks in Tral area. Usman Haider was reportedly the leader of the group.
Although the identity of the killed terrorists was not revealed initially, today the Jammu and Kashmir police have reportedly confirmed that one of the terrorists was in fact, Usman Haider, Masood Azhar’s nephew. Haider’s pictures released in the social media by the terror outfit picture him carrying an American M4 rifle, a sophisticated weapon used by the NATO forces in Afghanistan. Police statements have stated that they are yet to recover the M4.
As per reports, Haider is the second nephew of Masood Azhar killed by Indian security forces. His other nephew, Talha Rashid was killed by security forces in an encounter in Pulwama in November last year. An M4 carbine rifle was also reportedly recovered from Rashid’s person. According to reports, the terrorist outfit JeM had released a statement late on Tuesday confirming that Usman Haider and another terrorist have been killed by Indian forces. The encounter was carried out by a joint team of Rashtriya Rifles, SOG and CRPF.
