2 top JeM commanders killed in Pulwama encounter

Pulwama: Two top militant commanders of Jaish-e Muhammad outfit were on Wednesday killed in an encounter in Qasbayar area of Rajpora hamlet in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district, police said.
A senior police officer said a joint team of Police, Army’s 44 RR and CRPF launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) on specific information about the presence of militants in the Qasbayar area in pre-dawn hours on Wednesday.
He said that as the presence of militants got ascertained, efforts were made to evacuate the civilians in the area and a message of surrender was passed to the hiding militants, which they rejected.
The official said that as the joint team of forces approached the suspected spot, the hiding militants fired upon them, which retaliated, triggering an encounter.
In the ensuing gunfight, two militants namely Yasir Parray, a resident of Qasbayar and Furqan, a foreign militant were killed, he said.
Inspector General of police Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that militant commander of JeM Yasir Parray was an IED expert and his foreign associate Furqan was also killed. He said that both militants were involved in several cases and their killing is big success to forces.
Talking to reporters in Pulwama during his one day visit to the area the Director General Police Dilbagh Singh while talking with media persons in Pulwama said that it was a clean operation in which two top militant commanders were killed who were active since long time in the area and were involved in several cases. He said that Yasir Parray was an IED expert who was involved in an IED attack in district in which two soldiers were killed and many injured besides that Furqan who had infiltrated via Gurez was also involved in many militancy related cases. Both were working together since long and around one dozen FIRs are registered against the duo, he said. “The two militants were killed in a very clean operation,” he said.
He said lot of efforts were made to project TRF as a new and big militant organisation, but “all propaganda was foiled and countered by security agencies.” “Under a well-conceived plan, TRF was projected in a way that as if locals are running this militant organisation. In the past one month, we launched massive operations against TRF and those who were promoting TRF were dealt with and their efforts were foiled,” he said.
Meanwhile in a statement issued on Wednesday a police spokesman said that in the ensuing encounter, two militants JeM were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter. “The killed militants have been identified as Yasir Parray, resident of Qasbayar Pulwama (an IED expert) and a foreign militant Abu Furkan alias Ali Bhai resident of Pakistan,” the statement said. “The killed militant Yasir Parray figured among the list of most wanted militant operating in the valley as he was a highly trained IED expert. Besides other crimes, he was also instrumental in motivating and recruiting the youth to join terror folds and other criminal activities.”
The spokesman besides, the other killed militant Abu Furkan was active in Kashmir valley since 2018 figuring among the list of top 60 militants and used to operate in Pulwama and Pakharpora area of Budgam. “Furqan and along with Yasir Parray were the main conspirators of Avandgund Rajpora VB-IED in which 50Kg IED laden Santro Vehicle was recovered and defused by Police and security forces. They were also involved in killing of a civilian Azad Ahmad Dar resident of Kangan Pulwama,” the statement said.
In a statement after the gunfight the Defence spokesman in Srinagar Colonel Emron Musavi said that on receipt of reliable information from police, about the presence of militants in the vicinity of Qasbayar village in Pulwama district, army and police launched a joint cordon and search operation on intervening night of 30 November and December 1.
“The suspected house in the village was surrounded and cordoned off after midnight on December. Call for surrender was given, however the militants opened indiscriminate fire upon the security forces. Intermittent exchange of fire kept taking place and at around 8:15 am, the two trapped militants were killed,” he said. “The militants have been identified by the police as Yasir Ahmad Parray and Furqan alias Ali Bhai, who was a Pakistani militant. Two AK 47s, two pistols and other warlike stores were recovered from the encounter site.”
The defence spokesman said that based on the police information, Furqan alias Ali Bhai was a “ruthless category A+” Pakistani militant who was known to be active with JeM since June 26, 2020. “He was sent to Kashmir to radicalise youth and incite them to take up arms. The second militant, Yassir Ahmad Parrey, a resident of Qasbayar, Pulwama, was a notorious category “B” militant who had joined JeM on June 20, 2019. He was known to be associated with various Pakistani militants and act as a guide for bringing them into Kashmir. He was a known associate of Pakistani militant Abu Saifullah alias Lambu, who had planned the Pulwama convoy attack on CRPF. He had orchestrated attacks on the security forces using an improvised explosive device at Arihal on June 17, 2019,” the defence spokesman said