Pulwama attack 'mastermind' killed in encounter

Srinagar: Officials claimed on Monday that the mastermind of the February 14 Pulwama terror attack, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF personnel, was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir's Tral area.

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist Mudasir Ahmed Khan was one of the two militants killed in the encounter in Tral's Pinglish area that started on Sunday evening and went on till the early hours of Monday, they said.

The body of the second militant has not been identified yet, said the officials, who had earlier claimed he was Sajjad Bhat, a JeM operative whose car was used in the Pulwama attack. Bhat's brother refused to take the body, saying it was charred beyond recognition. Khan's body has been taken by his family members, the officials said. Khan was the "main conspirator" of the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Pulwama.