India says ‘mastermind’ of Kashmir suicide attack killed by armed forces in gun battle at suspected militant hideout

Three militants from the Jaish-e-Mohammed group, which claimed responsibility for the blast, were killed in a gun battle that lasted much of Monday

The raid at a suspected militant hideout close to the site of the attack also left four Indian soldiers, a policeman and a civilian dead

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Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon, General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:00pm, 19 Feb 2019Updated: 1:53pm, 20 Feb 2019

India’s army said on Tuesday it had killed the “mastermind” of a major suicide bomb attack in Kashmir which it blamed on Pakistan, as calls grew for reprisals over the deaths of more than 40 paramilitaries and soldiers.

Indian forces have staged operations since Thursday’s attack while anti-Pakistan and anti-Kashmir sentiment has spread across the country.

Hundreds of Indian soldiers on Monday raided a suspected militant hideout in a village close to the site of Thursday’s attack.

Three militants from the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) group, which claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, were killed in a gun battle that lasted much of Monday, Lieutenant General Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon told a press conference in Srinagar.

Two of the militants were Pakistanis, including the group’s “chief operations commander” in Kashmir, the army general said.

The attack sparked anti-Pakistan sentiment across India. Photo: AFP

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