JeM’s last visible commander killed in Sopore

The Pakistani national used VOIP; was active in north Kashmir since 2002
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Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Nov 24: The “divisional commander” of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Yasir alias Yasir Tunda, was killed in Sopore-Rafiabad area of Baramulla district in the early hours of Saturday in a joint operation by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Army.

Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, Shiv Murari Sahai, toldThe Hinduthat the operation was launched after the Sopore Police received a tipoff late on Friday that suggested the presence of the JeM’s last visible commander of north Kashmir at the hideout. The SOG Sopore and Rashtriya Rifles 22 Bn swooped on the hideout at the house of one Ali Mohammad Bhat at Chatlora village, 4 km from the apple rich town of Sopore.

In the raid, conducted after evacuating the civilian population, Pakistani militant Yasir, who operated with codenames such as Showkat, Shoaib and Shehzeb, was killed. In the brief exchange of gunfire, Sub Inspector Dilraj sustained injury.

People of the village said that the SOG men failed to find Yasir when they conducted a room-to-room search. However, three SOG men, led by Mr. Dilraj, came back to a room in which a woman was bedridden. The woman claimed that there was none other than her baby under the quilt. As Mr. Dilraj pulled it to verify, Yasir, who was hiding under it, took out his pistol and opened fire.

Dilraj was hit, but he quickly pumped a volley of bullets from his assault rifle, killing the militant on the spot.

“Major achievement”

The IG described Yasir’s killing as a major achievement for the police and security forces. Yasir had taken over the top post of his organisation after the death of “chief commander” Qari Hamaad in an encounter at Fore Shore Road around the Dal Lake here last year.

Sopore Superintendent of Police Imtiyaz Hussain Mir said the JeM militant was eliminated in a surgical operation. Yasir was involved in a number of terror attacks on the police, security forces and civilian soft targets. He had shot dead People’s Democratic Party’s Sopore Zone president Ghulam Mohammad Mir at Ladoora village in 2008. At Chatlora, he had gunned down National Conference activist Ghulam Mohiuddin Bhat.

Police sources said Yasir was in touch with his cadres in Kupwara and the organisation’s top leadership in Pakistan through Skype as he would often interact with them through Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). His laptop has been seized and it was being scanned to learn about his connections, activities and planning.

Highly placed police sources in Srinagar said that Yasir, along with two associates, recently escaped from a cordon-and-search operation at Divar in Kupwara district. Mostly operating in Lolab, he was active in north Kashmir districts of Kupwara and Baramulla since 2002. The sources said Yasir was the JeM’s “divisional commander” in north Kashmir.

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Web link:

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/jems-last-visible-commander-killed-in-sopore/article4132097.ece