Top Lashkar militant killed in the Valley

Top Lashkar militant killed in the Valley
MUZAMIL JALEEL

SRINAGAR, MARCH 28: Jammu and Kashmir police today killed a top Lashkar-e-Toiba militant commander and claimed he had been the mastermind behind the outfit's suicidal attacks in the Valley.

Abdul Rehman, the Lashkar commander from Sheikhupora, Lahore in Pakistan had infiltrated into Kashmir in 1997. Known as Salahudin Ayubi to security forces and the media, Rehman, was active under two other code-names -- Abu Ubeda and Tariq Mehmood -- also. He was in his mid-20s.

``It is a big success for us. He was the most wanted militant in the entireValley,'' said A.K. Bhan, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir range. ``He had master minded almost all the suicide squad attacks. It was he, who planned and executed suicide attacks at the airport and Police Control Room.''

Giving details of the operation, Superintendent of Police, SpecialOperations Group (SOG) of Police, Budgam Sunil Dutt said a SOG partyaccompanied by a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of 6 Sikh rushed to village Puhroo near Nowgam. ``We had information that few of them are hiding there.As we stopped the vehicles, we came under fire. There were three ofthem, who managed to escape while he was hit,'' he said. He claimed thatthe police had no inkling that they had killed Rehman. ``It was only afterthe body was identified that we came to know he was a top militant,'' hesaid. ``Rehman had escaped after the recent suicide squad attack on the airport as well''.

Dutt claimed that the slain militant was Lashkar's operational chief. However, a Lashkar spokesman, who called a local newsagency said the outfit has no knowledge of the incident but confirmed that Rehman was a divisional commander. Various other security agencies also revealed that Rehman was adivisional commander of the outfit for Srinagar and Budgam districts. ``Hehad even another code name, Hiader Karar and would use it generally whileconducting his activities in Budgam district,'' reliable sources revealed.``But his importance was as the main co-ordinator of the entire Laskarnetwork and a leader of the special suicide squads''. Rehman, according tosources, took over from Abu Tulha, a militant commander from Karachi,who was killed in an encounter with Border Security Force on February 14, 2000.

Lashkar which is still dominated by foreign militants, mostly Pakistanis, have two main networks active in the Valley. The suicide squads which are a highly trained and extremely motivated lot functions as a separate group within the outfit. According to security agencies, there are around 15-20 of them waiting for their turn in Srinagar city alone.

The `Amir-e-Aala' or chief of the outfit in the Valley is Zaki-u-Rehman, aPakistani national but the operational chief of the group is Abdullah Umaralias Makki Bhai, who also belongs to Pakistan. The operations of the groupare further being taken care by three divisional commanders, Abu Ma-auz forSouth Kashmir (Anantnag-Pulwama) and Shabnum for north Kashmir (Baramulla-Kupwara) besides Rehman in Central Kashmir.

In fact, the outfit had launched a massive recruitment drive to indigeniseits ranks. According to sources in security agencies, at least three deputydivisional commanders were local boys. ``Abdul Majeed is deputy divisionalcommander of the outfit in Baramulla-Kupwara He hails from village Bommaiin Sopore while Abdullah Magray and Sofi are at the same rank in south andcentral Kashmir,'' a source revealed.

The outfit has also been confusing the security agencies with each of itscommanders moving around with more than one code names. ``They have codenames which a militant gets when he is assigned a task. For example for almost two years, Abu Tulha was the divisional commander for central Kashmir.We killed three Abu Tulhas, but each time an Abu Tulha would get killed,another militant would take the same code name and carry out hisactivities,'' a senior security force official said.