This is an archive article published on January 20, 2017
Mumbai attack mastermind Lakhvi’s nephew killed in J&K firefight: Police
Police sources said Musaib, along with other Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, had infiltrated into the Valley in August 2015 and had been operating in Bandipore district.
Arms recovered from Abu Musaib. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
The nephew of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operations chief and Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi was killed in the Valley Thursday. Abu Musaib was killed in an early morning encounter with security forces in Hajin, a village in Bandipore district of north Kashmir.
“Yes, he (Abu Musaib) was Lakhvi’s nephew. He was his brother’s son,” IGP (Kashmir) Javid Mujataba Gilani told The Indian Express. “He had been active in the Valley since August 2015.”
Vikramjit Singh, commanding officer of 13 Rashtriya Rifles, said: “Based on specific intelligence inputs, a joint operation was conducted by 13 RR, J&K Police and CRPF in Hajin. In this operation, one heavily armed foreign terrorist was eliminated. The slain terrorist has been identified as Abu Musaib, top LeT commander from Bandipore district.”
Police sources said Musaib, along with other Lashkar-e-Toiba militants, had infiltrated into the Valley in August 2015 and had been operating in Bandipore district. Police said he entered the Valley through the Gurez sector.
The Lashkar’s then Valley chief and Udhampur attack mastermind Qasim had gone to Bandipore to receive Musaib and his associates. But Qasim had to return to his south Kashmir base after a brief encounter with a police team that was following him — in that incident, J&K Police lost its top counter-insurgency officer, Altaf Ahmad, better known as Altaf Laptop. The Lashkar then sent another local militant to receive the group and move them to south Kashmir but he was killed in an encounter in Bandipore before he could meet the infiltrating group.
The group then stationed itself in Bandipore and operated in Hajin and surrounding areas. A senior police officer said Musaib was the Lashkar divisional commander. He was said to have been the mastermind of an attack on the CRPF at Nowhatta in Srinagar in which a commandant was killed.
Bashaarat Masood is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express. He has been covering Jammu and Kashmir, especially the conflict-ridden Kashmir valley, for two decades. Bashaarat joined The Indian Express after completing his Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University in Kashmir. He has been writing on politics, conflict and development. Bashaarat was awarded with the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2012 for his stories on the Pathribal fake encounter.
Expertise and Experience
Two Decades of Frontline Reporting: Bashaarat has spent 20 years documenting the evolution of Kashmir, from high-intensity conflict and political shifts to socio-economic development.
Award-Winning Investigative Journalism: He is a recipient of the prestigious Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award (2012). This honor was bestowed for his reporting on the Pathribal fake encounter, a series of stories that highlighted his ability to handle sensitive human rights and security issues with investigative rigor.
Specialized Beats: His authoritative coverage spans:
Political Transitions: Tracking the shift from statehood to Union Territory, electoral dynamics, and the pulse of local governance.
Security & Conflict: Providing nuanced reporting on counter-insurgency, civil liberties, and the impact of the conflict on the civilian population.
Development: Documenting the infrastructure, healthcare, and educational landscape within the Valley.
Academic Background: He holds a Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the University of Kashmir, providing him with a localized academic and professional foundation that is rare in regional reporting. ... Read More
Arms recovered from Abu Musaib. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi)
