Mumbai attack mastermind’s nephew killed in Hajin gunfight

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, January 19

A top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant commander and the nephew of Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi was killed in a gunfight in north Kashmir’s Bandipora on Thursday.  

The militant commander identified as Abu Musaib, was killed in a wee-hour gunfight in Khosa Mohalla of Hajin, some 30 kms from Srinagar, after an input about militant presence.

J&K Director General of Police, SP Vaid said the killing of the militant commander was a huge success.  “As per our information, he is nephew of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi,” Vaid said.

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Lakhvi is the operations commander of Lashkar and is blamed by New Delhi for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Police said that a brief gunfight erupted in wee hours when forces cordoned Hajin village and the militant commander tried to break the cordon

 “As the area was being cordoned, the hiding militant opened fire triggering a brief gunfight.  In the firefight a militant was killed and a policeman was critically injured," a police officer in north Kashmir said.

An AK-47 rifle, three Chinese grenades and war-like stores was recovered from the gunfight site.

Police said that Musaib was the divisional commander of the group for Bandipore and  Ganderbal districts and was instrumental in establishing the Lashkar network in the area.

"Abu Musaib was active from 2015,” they said.