In a major success for security forces, top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Abu Qasim, accused of masterminding the Udhampur attack, was killed in an overnight encounter in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Qasim, a Pakistani terrorist, had planned the attack on a Border Security Force convoy in Udhampur on August 5, according to the National Investigation Agency. Two BSF personnel were killed in that attack. While one of the terrorists, Mohammed Noman, was killed in retaliatory fire, another, Mohammad Naveed, was later captured by villagers.
Qasim is accused of involvement in some of the major attacks on security forces in the state in the last couple of years. In June 2013, he attacked an Army convoy in Hyderpora on the outskirts of Srinagar, killing nine soldiers and injuring 11 others.
He is also said to be involved in the killing of Altaf Ahmad, one of the best counter-terrorism police officers in Jammu and Kashmir, earlier this month in a gunbattle in Bandipore district. Police say Mr Ahmad, along with two colleagues, was on a covert mission in the district to track down Qasim.
Qasim was carrying a reward of Rs. 20 lakh on his head.
After the Hyderpora attack, the police had announced a Rs. 10 lakh bounty. Later, the National Investigation Agency, which took over the investigation into the Udhampur attack, announced Rs. 10 lakh for any information leading to Qasim’s arrest.
