Mohammad Umair, the Pulwama attack planner remains elusive in Afghanistan

New Delhi, Feb 14: India was quick to avenge the Pulwama attack. While the Balakot air strike was aimed at hitting the Jaish-e-Mohammad facility, security forces also gunned down one of the masterminds behind the attack.

The killing of Mudasir Ahmed Khan alias Mohammad Bhai at the Pinglish area of Tral in Kashmir's Pulwama district was a major operation. He was one of the masterminds of the attack. In the aftermath of the killing, security forces said that he was one of the key conspirators of the Pulwama attack in which 40 jawans were martyred.

The National Investigation Agency which is currently probing the case says that they have made plenty of inroads into the case. The probe has found that the JeM terrorist who assembled the bomb had managed to slip out and reach Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Investigations suggest that nearly 80 kilograms of RDX was used in the attack. While the bomb maker managed to get out of Kashmir, intelligence agencies say that the mastermind of the attack is still in the state. The mastermind identified as Mohammad Umair is still operating in the Pulwama area. An Intelligence Bureau official informed that he had overseen the entire attack and was also the one who masterminded it.

Umair is the nephew of Jaish-e-Mohamamd chief, Maulana Masood Azhar. He was sent into Kashmir after another nephew of Azhar, who went by the name Usman Haider was killed in an encounter. It may be recalled that Talha Rashid, also a nephew of the Jaish chief was killed in an encounter with the security forces in 2016.

According to officials, Umair was trained in Afghanistan. An officer says that this explains why the nature of the attack was such. Vehicle ramming with bombs are reported from countries such as Afghanistan and Syria. In the aftermath of the attack, security officials had raised concerns about this style of attack and warned that it could become a norm.

Investigating officers say that while the mastermind and bomb maker has been identified, they are looking for the over ground workers, who aided the bomber with information and precise logistics. Dar was given precise information about the movement of the convoys.

The moment the convoys were spotted, he entered from the left side of bus number five and detonated the vehicle as a result of 40 jawans were martyred.

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