A top Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) ‘commander’ was killed in an encounter between Security Forces (SFs) and militants in Rawalpora area in Shopian District of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in India on March 15, reports Daily Excelsior. The slain militant was identified as JeM ‘commander’ Villayat Ahmed Lone alias Sajjad Afghani, resident of Shopian. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar, termed the killing of Sajjad Afghani as a big relief for the parents as he was mastermind of recruiting youth into militancy. “We delayed operation due to some reasons-first militants made five civilians as hostages, secondly, militants kept changing houses. Third our aim was to prevent collateral damage in which we got success,” IGP, Kumar said. As per Police records, Lone was active since September 2018 and was part of a group involved in executing a series of attacks on Policemen, SFs and civilians. Incriminating materials including arms and ammunition were also recovered from the site of encounter.
Security Forces (SFs) launched a Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in Brath village in Sopore area in Baramulla District of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in India on March 15, reports Daily Excelsior. A joint team of Army’s 22 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operation Group (SOG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a CASO in Brath village of Sopore Town and conducted house to house searches in the area and also installed lights so as to prevent the escape of militants owing to darkness.