Jaish mastermind behind Anantnag strike killed

SRINAGAR: A top Jaish-e-Mohammed commander, who was the mastermind of the Anantnag terror attack on July 12 that claimed the lives of five CRPF personnel and an SHO, was killed during an anti-insurgency operation in the Valley on Tuesday. Police have called Fayaz Ahmed Thokar’s encounter a “big achievement”.


Thokar and his associate Shan Showkat Bhat were gunned down during an anti-insurgency operation at Bijbehara in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district. A native of Tral in

Pulwama district

, Thokar was the brain behind the strike on CRPF personnnel at Anantnag’s busy Khanabal-Pahalgam road, which was the first terror attack on the paramilitary force after the February 14 suicide bombing in Pulwama.

In the July 12 attack, five CRPF personnel, including two officers, on picket duty were killed and five others, including Anantnag SHO Arshad Ahmad, three CRPF jawans and a woman pedestrian were injured. Ahmad had later succumbed to injuries.

Tasked with recruiting locals for JeM, Thokar used to operate in Tral, Awantipora, Bijbehara and Aishmuqam areas of the Valley. Both Thokar and Bhat were wanted for several terror cases, including attacks on security establishments and civilians, police said.

Based on intelligence inputs about a terrorist hideout in Bijbehara’s Wopzan area, security forces launched a search operation in the locality. As they combed the area, the holed-up terrorists opened fire at the search party, triggering an encounter in which Thokar and Bhat were killed, said a police officer.

Security forces recovered incriminating material, arms and ammunition, including a magazine containing steel-coated bullets, from the encounter site.