The Hindu : Front Page : Hizbul Mujahideen activist killed

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Monday, May 08, 2006

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Hizbul Mujahideen activist killed

Srinagar: A Hizbul Mujahideen explosives expert and mastermind of most car bomb attacks in Jammu and Kashmir since 2004 was on Sunday killed in an ambush by security forces in Pulwama district. The self-styled district commander of the outfit Muhstaq Ahmad Bhat, was killed in the encounter in Nooripora area, a defence spokesman said.

Bhat alias Gowhar, a resident of Shikargah village of Tral had been active since 1993 after undergoing extensive training on arms and making of improvised explosive devices in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Gowhar was the mastermind of all car bomb blasts in the valley since 2004, causing large number of casualities among both security forces and civilians, the spokesman said adding that Gowhar had been involved in the killing of civilians in Tral and Anantnag.

Beheading of Gujjar couple in northern part of Tral in 2004 was his handiwork, the spokesman said. Working under the code of Aijaz, he said the slain militant was overall coordinator of Hizbul Mujahideen with expertise in planning, preparation and execution of all IEDs in South Kashmir and around Srinagar, prominent being Pulwama and Bemina, Nishat and Burn Hall blasts in Srinagar.

He said two of his close associates Rayees Dar and Sohail Faisal were also involved in the IED blasts. — PTI

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