The hawkish man quietly waited the whole night under a bush in Gulgam alpine forests surrounded by scores of BSF men who had presumed him dead and were waiting for twilight to search the dense forests of Gulgam for bodies and arms. The fierce encounter had already claimed two mercenaries.

The Afghan leapt from his `hideout' and opened his pistol on Assistant commandant Rakesh Ahuja, who was leading the triumphant BSF search team in the wee hours next morning. Bullet hit Ajuha in the heart, making a sham of the bullet-proof jacket he was wearing. Ahuja breathed his last within minutes - The Afghan had avenged his defeat before being shot dead.

Army and BSF officials guarding the northernmost borderline of Kashmir with Pakistan occupied territory here are impressed by such real-life stories of bravado of the foreign mercenaries. In a give-devil-its-due spirit, they confess, ``It is interesting to fight these militants, for unlike the Kashmiris they are trained, motivated and keen fighters''.

Another such incident happened in village Jagarpora, where 10 mercenaries were gunned down after two days of siege last month. As the troops were searching the village for lurking militants, an Afghan who had survived without food and water in hiding for three days, sprang from somewhere and rode on top of the armoured car manned by BSF troops. Sure of being shot any minute by the scores of surrounding securitymen, he made strong attempts to overpower the driver and mow down the troops.

``He knew by all counts he is going to be killed'', said a BSF officer who was was an eyewitness to the Afghan's exploits. ``But he still made last-ditch determined efforts to turn the tables on us''.

A senior army officer rates the Afghans as the best fighters among the hordes of foreign mercenaries who were being pushed into Kashmir, mostly from this border region for jehad. He says Pakistanis, who form the bulk of the intruders, were not as good at fighting. ``They (Afghans) tend to make optimum use of their ammunition and are highly motivated against kafirs (infidels)''.

He could not help acknowledging the fighting skills of these mercenaries during an encounter in forests of Lolab two months ago. Two Afghans cornered in a cave-hideout by the police party, coolly fought for several hours without any panic. ``One of them displayed excellent sense of anticipation when he targeted the team leader Gulbaden Singh (Dy SP) after half an hours' wait''. He had seen Gulbadan taking cover of a boulder and patiently waited for a split second when the policeman would raise his head. The Afghan's had succeeded in killing one of the most daring police officers in Kashmir with a single shot.

The said mercenary smashed all his expensive communication equipment and burnt wads of Indian currency before being killed. ``he was hurling choicest abuses on us and was addressing all troops as karifs'', a police officer told said.

Officers say the mercenaries generally avoid confrontation with them but would fight to the finish whenever cornered. Citing reasons for high motivation among the Afghans, Army officers say fought the jehad in their belief that Kashmir was a battleground for settling the ``believers versus non-believers'' conflict. Besides they come with a death wish ``to go to promised heaven after martyrdom''.