The nephew of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar (pictured above) was among the three militants who were killed during an encounter in the Aglar Kandi region of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Monday. A soldier of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles was also killed in the operation. Two soldiers and a civilian were also injured.
Talha Rasheed, Azhar’s nephew, was a resident of Drabgam in Pulwama, News18 reported. A press release confirmed that Rasheed had been kiled, Kashmir Dispatch reported.
Inspector General of Police Muneer Khan told journalists at a press conference on Tuesday.
The police said the three militants were involved in the attack at a police post on Saturday, in which a constable had died. Security personnel recovered a AK-47 and M4 carbine rifles from the site of the encounter.
“It was an excellent operation, nicely coordinated between the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force,” Inspector General of Police Muneer Khan said on Tuesday. “We will ask Pakistan to collect the body because they owned it. The matter will be taken up through proper channels.”
Meanwhile, Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat said: “It doesn’t matter if he was Masood Azhar’s nephew or someone else. We aim to neutralise all terrorists, no matter where they belong.”
General Rawat also said that the M4 rifle found at the encounter site proved that militants were getting support from across the border.
The encounter began as security forces were carrying out a cordon-and-search operation after receiving information about the presence of a few suspected militants in the area. The soldier, Sham Sundar, sustained bullet injuries during the gunfight, after which he was taken to hospital but died soon. Internet services have been blocked in the district.
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