The assault rifle is the first such weapon recovered from terrorists. It was smuggled into Kashmir after Pakistan's Army passed it on to infiltrators for use against security forces.
Security forces dealt a blow to Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and gunned down its top commander Talha Rashid — nephew of Pathankot attack mastermind Moulana Masood Azhar — and recovered a US-made M4 carbine at Aglar-Kandi village in South Kashmir's Pulwama district on Monday evening.
Rashid was among the militants — including Pakistani JeM divisional commander Mohammad Bhai and local Wasim Ahmad Ganai — killed in a swift operation by a joint team of Army, CRPF and police. An Army soldier of 44 Rashtriya Riffles lost his life in the line of duty.
The assault rifle is the first such weapon recovered from terrorists. It was smuggled into Kashmir after Pakistan's Army passed it on to infiltrators for use against security forces.
Police sources said Talha had been operating in Pulwama for the last four to five months after he infiltrated into the Valley from Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.
"For the first time they (JeM) have owned up a Pakistani militant. He (Rashid) is nephew of Moulana Azhar. Now we will take up the matter through proper channels. We request (Pakistan) very firmly, please claim the body and please take the body because they have said that he is a Pakistani nephew of Moulana Masood Azhar", said Munir Ahmad Khan, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range.
This is the second time this year when any family member of an India's most wanted has been killed in an encounter in the Valley. On January 19, security forces killed Abu Musaib — nephew of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi — at Hajin village in North Kashmir's Bandipora district.
The Army said the main feature of the Pulwama operation was the seizure of the rifle. "It is a US-made weapon presently with a lot of Armies of NATO and special forces of Pakistan's Army. We have reasons to believe that this particular weapon was given by Pakistan's Army to JeM cadres. This clearly shows the complicity between JeM and Pakistan", said Major General BS Raju, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Indian Army's Victor Force.
"We have reasons to believe 5 to 10 such weapons could have been brought in by terrorists who infiltrated recently", said Major General Raju.
Meanwhile, the Army paid tributes to its soldier Sepoy Vrahma Pal Singh. Singh, 30, had joined the Army in 2004. He was from village Shaujana Rani in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a three-year-old son.
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