The J&K Police on Saturday said they suspected that one of the three slain militants killed in the Anantnag “encounter” on December 30 could be Samir Dar, a Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) “commander” involved in the 2019 Pulwama attack that left 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans dead at Pulwama’s Lethpora area.
Meanwhile, one unidentified militant was killed in an operation in north Kashmir’s Kupwara.
“The picture of one of the killed terrorists in the Anantnag encounter matches with JeM top commander Samir Dar, who was the last surviving terrorist involved in the Lethpora terror attack. We are going for DNA sample matching,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said.
Earlier in 2021, Saifullah alias Adnan alias Lamboo became the seventh militant involved in the Pulwama attack to be killed in the dense woods of the Dachigam area near Srinagar during an operation.
A total of 19 militants were found to have been involved in the Pulwama attack, which soured relations between India and Pakistan in February 2019 and eventually spurred an air strike inside Pakistan from India.
If Dar’s identity is established, then he would be the last of the group to be still operating from J&K even after the 2019 attack.
“Of the 19 accused [in the Pulwama attack], seven have been arrested and eight killed, if Dar’s identity is established,” IGP Kumar said.
Four absconders in the case, including Ashik Nengroo, Masood Azhar, Rouf Asgar and Ammar Alvi are either in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) or Pakistan.
Meanwhile, a police spokesperson said an unidentified militant had been killed in an encounter between security forces and militants in the Jumagund area of Kupwara district on Saturday evening.
“The operation was on and further details will be shared accordingly. The identity and affiliation of the slain militant is being ascertained,” the spokesperson said.