Pulwama attack mastermind killed in PoK

NEW DELHI, 21 MAY One of the masterminds of the 14 February, 2019 attack on Indian security personnel in Pulwama, which left over 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel dead, was killed by unknown gunmen in Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK). Hamza Burhan had been designated a terrorist by the Union Home Ministry in 2022.

Burhan was allegedly involved in radicalising and indoctrinating youth in South Kashmir. Security agencies said he provided explosives and grenades to those who carried out the Pulwama attack.

He was also found to be involved in the grenade attack on CRPF personnel on 18 November, 2020.

Burhan’s killing comes after a series of attacks targeting members of groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), and Hizbul Mujahideen, attributed by local reports to “unidentified gunmen.”

The Pulwama incident was carried out by a member of the JeM who rammed an explosives-laden car into a CRPF convoy. The attack led the Indian Air Force to launch a strike in Balakot, Pakistan, a few days later, raising tensions between the two countries.