Pulwama, February 18: Three Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist were gunned down by security forces on Monday in an encounter at Pinglan area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district. Two of the terrorists were identified as Abdul Rasheed Ghazi alias Kamran and Hilal Ahmed. However, the identity of the third terrorist has still not ascertained. Meanwhile, five Indian Army personnel including a major rank officer were also martyred in the gun-battle. Who is Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, an IED Expert And Mastermind of Pulwama Attack?.

Four soldiers were martyred in the morning, while the fifth soldier later succumbed to his injuries. The martyred soldiers were identified as Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal of 55 Rashtriya Rifles, Hawaldar Sheo Ram, Sepoy Hari Singh, Sepoy Ajay Kumar and Gulzar Mohammad. Mohammad was initially evacuated to Army's 92 base hospital Badamibagh Srinagar for treatment. Pulwama Terror Attack: How CRPF Jawans Fell in JeM Trap.

According to reports, a joint team of Indian Army’s 55 Rashtriya Rifles, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operation Group (SOG) cordoned off the area in the early morning hours on Monday after receiving the inputs about the presence of terrorists. The encounter broke out when the search party was fired upon by the terrorists. Indian Army's Brigadier along with a Lieutenant colonel and a Captain were also injured in the encounter. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of police South Kashmir range, Amit Kumar also sustained injuries in the gunfight.

Ghazi, planned the attack on CRPF convoy that took place on February 14. He had expertise in developing improvised explosive devices or IED. Ghazi was sent to Kashmir in December last year to avenge the killings of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar's nephews - Talha Rasheed and Usman Haider. The encounter took place four days after 40 Central Police Reserve Force (CRPF) jawans were martyred in an IED blast carried out by JeM.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2019 07:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).