The dreaded militant outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) faced a jolt as its top commander Rayaz Ahmed alias Abu Qasim Kashmiri was gunned down in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Friday.
Ahmed was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Rawalakot in PoK where he was managing the Kolti terror camp of LeT.
Ahmed was a resident of Pooch in Kashmir and had fled the country in 1999 to join the Lashkar ranks in PoK where he was handling operations and recruitment. His terror activities had put him on the most wanted list of Indian intelligence and security agencies.
In the last two decades, Ahmed grew to become one of the key commanders managing the Kotli terror camps and launchpad for the terror outfit. Recently, he was believed to have been playing a crucial role in reviving terror activities in Rajouri and Poonch areas of Kashmir. The twin areas have continued to witness attempts at terror infiltrations and encounters with security forces.
The revival of the cross-border terror camps has been one of the key projects of the Pakistan ISI-backed terror outfits post the abrogation of Article 370 in J&K
Intelligence reports revealed that terror camps were running from three key locations in PoK—Muzaffarabad, Manshera and Kotli. These camps were desperately trying to recruit more youth and provide them arms training to send them to launch pads at the LoC. The use of drones by terrorist outfits like LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen to drop arms and drugs into Indian territory is also the latest concern for security agencies in the valley who are hot on the chase of the most wanted terrorists.
