A key accused in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, Hamza Burhan, has reportedly been killed by unidentified gunmen in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), according to TOI sources.
Burhan, who was among the alleged masterminds of the deadly bombing that killed 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel, is said to have sustained multiple bullet injuries in the attack. His death has not yet been independently confirmed by official agencies.
Also Read: Who is Hamza Burhan? Pulwama attack mastermind, shot dead by unknown gunmen in PoK
The Centre had designated Burhan a terrorist in 2022. In an official notification, the government had said: “Arjumand Gulzar Dar alias Hamza Burhan alias Doctor, aged 23 years, is a resident of Kharbatpora, Ratnipora, Pulwama, and one of the associate members of Al Badr, a terrorist outfit designated under the UAPA.”
Burhan, originally from Kharbatpora in Pulwama district, had travelled to Pakistan in 2017, reportedly on the pretext of pursuing higher studies. He is believed to have later joined the banned terror outfit Al-Badr and risen to the rank of commander within the organisation.
The Pulwama attack took place on February 14, 2019, when a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force personnel travelling on National Highway 44 was targeted in the Lethpora area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir.
A vehicle laden with explosives rammed into one of the buses in the convoy, triggering a massive blast that killed 40 CRPF personnel from the 76th Battalion and the suicide bomber, Adil Ahmad Dar, who was also from Pulwama. Several others were injured in the attack.
Jaish-e-Mohammed later claimed responsibility for the strike and released a video of Dar, who was 22 years old at the time and had joined the group a year earlier.
The attack, one of the deadliest on Indian security forces in Kashmir in decades, sharply escalated tensions between India and Pakistan and led to a military standoff between the two countries later in 2019.
Indian investigative agencies had identified 19 accused in connection with the case. By August 2021, several accused had been killed, while others were arrested as the probe progressed.
With inputs from TOI
