Two militants, including the nephew of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, were killed by security forces following a day-long encounter at Tral in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Usman Haidar, the nephew of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, was a wanted sniper and is believed to have been behind the spate of attacks on security forces.
An M-4 carbine rifle, which was possibly used for carrying out sniper attacks, was recovered from the encounter spot in Chaanketaar village of Tral, media report quoted officials as saying.
Another nephew of Azhar, Talha Rashid, was among three militants killed in a security operation in Pulwama in November last year. In April, the ‘operational commander’ of the terror outfit Mufti Yasir was eliminated, becoming the fifth top JeM commander to be killed since June last year.
Three defence personnel have been killed in sniper attacks by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists since mid-September, prompting the law enforcement agencies to re-calibrate their strategy to thwart such strikes by the Pakistan-based group. Last week, an Army jawan and a Seema Shashtra Bal personnel were killed in sniper attacks in Tral area.