NEW DELHI: Indian agencies on Saturday confirmed that besides the kin of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, including his brother Rauf Azhar, a few more hardcore terrorists affiliated to terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and JeM were killed in Indian strikes in Pakistan under ‘Operation Sindoor’ on May 7.
Sources in the agencies said they have a verifiable input that one among the five terrorists, who was neutralised in the air strike, was LeT member Mudassar Khadian Khas, also known as Abu Jundal. He was in charge of Markaz Taiba at Muridke in Narowal district of Pakistan.
The sources said the wreaths were laid at his funeral on behalf of Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir and Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab Maryam Nawaz, as the prayer event was held at a government school.
The funeral event was led by Hafiz Abdul Rauf of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), a designated global terrorist. A serving lieutenant general of the Pakistan Army and the Inspector General of Punjab Police attended the ceremony, they added.
Another one was Hafiz Muhammad Jameel, the elder brother-in-law of JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, was killed. He was in charge of Markaz Subhan Allah in Bahawalpur, which was hit in the Indian air strike, the sources said, adding that he was actively involved in radicalising youth and fundraising for the terror outfit.
Mohammad Yusuf Azhar, also known as Ustad Ji, Mohd Salim, and Ghosi Sahab, was another of Azhar’s brothers-in-law who was killed. Affiliated with JeM, he, along with Rauf Azhar, was wanted in the IC-814 hijacking case and linked to multiple terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K).
Khalid, alias Abu Akasha, of LeT, and Mohammad Hassan Khan of JeM were also killed in the operation. Khalid was involved in several attacks in J&K and weapons smuggling from Afghanistan, the sources said, adding that his funeral in Faisalabad was attended by senior Pakistani army officials and the Deputy Commissioner of Faisalabad.
JeM’s Mohammad Hassan Khan was son of Mufti Asghar Khan Kashmiri, an operational commander of the banned terror outfit in PoK and had played key roles in coordinating terrorist attacks in J&K.