LeT terrorist, wanted in India, shot dead in POK

PoK, September 9: A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist, who is wanted in India, was shot dead inside a mosque in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Friday, officials said.

The terrorist, Riyaz Ahmad alias Abu Qasim, was killed by unidentified assailants, marking the fourth such murder of a key terrorist leader operating from across the border this year.

Qasim, an affiliate of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba, was a key conspirator in the January 1 terror attack in Dhangri, which killed seven people and injured 13. Terrorists attacked the Rajouri district's Dhangri village and started fire indiscriminately.

They had also planted an improvised explosive device (IED), which detonated the following morning.

Qasim, according to officials, is from Jammu and crossed the border into Pakistan in 1999. According to police, he was the brains behind a resurgence of terrorism in the border areas of Poonch and Rajouri.

According to reports from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), Qasim was killed by unidentified gunmen inside the Al-Qudus mosque in the Rawalakot district during pre-dawn prayers.

“Ahmad mostly operated from the Lashkar-e-Taiba base camp in Muridke but had recently shifted to Rawalakot. He was a close associate of Sajjad Jaat, the Lashkar-e-Taiba's chief commander, and also looked after the outfit's finances,” officials informed.

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- With inputs from agencies