India Avenges Death Of CRPF Soldiers, Mastermind Ghazi Abdul Rasheed Shot Dead By Indian Forces

Two Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, including Ghazi Abdul Rasheed who is believed to be the mastermind of the Pulwama attack on the CRPF convoy, have been killed in an encounter by Indian armed forces.

India today/ANI

The encounter took place in wee hours of Monday in Pinglin village of Pulwama district in South Kashmir.

According to ANI reports, the area has been cordoned off and the operation is being carried out by a joint team consisting of 55 Rashtriya Rifles, police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Four army men, including a Major, were also killed in the encounter that started in the early hours of the day. According to reports, a civilian was also killed in the encounter.

Visuals: The 4 Army personnel including a Major, who were killed in action during encounter between terrorists and security forces, in Pinglan area of Pulwama district, belonged to 55 Rashtriya Rifles. #JammuAndKashmir (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/Wa2sxz3bzT

¡ª ANI (@ANI) 18 February 2019

Reports state that a gunfight started late on Sunday night, 17 February, after security forces including the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police and the CRPF, surrounded the area. It was suspected that Jaish-e-Mohammed militants were hiding in the area.

Top intelligence agencies in Jammu and Kashmir believe that top JeM commander Ghazi Abdul Rasheed was the brain behind the Pulwama attack who has now been killed.

According to India Today, agencies believe Ghazi was the IED expert who trained Dar.