'He wanted to become a cleric, no idea why he choose this path', says Father of suicide bomber

New Delhi, Feb 15: Adil Ahmad Dar, the 22-year-old terrorist who allegedly carried out the Pulwama terror attack on Thursday, 14 February, in which at least 37 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed, was trained for this specific "operation".

Accused of carrying out one of the deadliest terrorist attacks the state has ever witnessed, Dar lived just 10 kilometres away from the attack spot in Gundibagh.

Who was Adil Ahmad Dar?

Ghulam Hassan Dar's son Adil Ahmad Dar had studied till Class 12 and then taken a course in religious studies. started to work at a sawmill owned by a neighbour. In March last year, he left his family and joined militancy in the Valley. His father, Ghulam Hassan Dar, is a small-time vendor.

Dar is one of the three brothers who wanted to become a cleric and had already memorised eight chapters of the Quran.

According to reports, Dar's family had last seen him on the afternoon of March 19, 2018, his father said. He had been working as mason's assistant at a construction site. That afternoon, said Ghulam Hassan Dar, his son came home for lunch, took his cycle and left home. "Days later, a photo of Adil wielding a gun went viral on social media," said his father. "We had no idea he would choose this path."

According to police officials, Dar was recruited to Jaish's fidayeen squad after the outfit's previous fidayeen militant, Fardeen Ahmad Khanday, was killed in 2018.

On the evening of February 14, Jaish-e-Mohammad released a pre-recorded 10-minute long video statement. It featured 19-year-old Adil Ahmed Dar, also known as Waqas Commando, from Gundibagh, in South Kashmir's Pulwama district. He said that he was directly recruited to Jaish's fidayeen squad. "Fidayeen" is an Arabic term that means "those who sacrifice themselves". Dar declared, "By the time this video reaches you, I will be in Heaven."

According to Central Reserve Police Force figures released on Thursday evening, 37 of its men were killed. Unofficial figures put the toll at 42 so far. At least five personnel of the paramilitary force were also injured.