In fear of Indian Army crackdown, terror outfits ask families of terrorists to go into hiding

The security forces recently killed the nephew of Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi in an encounter in J&K.

New Delhi: Apparently frightened by the Indian Army's ongoing crackdown in the Kashmir Valley, several Pakistan-backed terror organisations have, reportedly, asked the kin of their active agents and operatives to go underground in order to avoid detection by the Indian officials.

The appeal from the terror outfits to the families of their members comes in the wake of the recent killing of six Pakistani terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), including the nephew of Mumbai attack mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi.

The said encounter took place in north Kashmir's Bandipora district in which an IAF Garud commando was also killed.

Apart from Lakhvi's nephew, two hardcore LeT commanders were also among those killed by the security forces, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police (DGP), SP Vaid, told reporters.

Prior to that, three militants, including Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar's nephew and another 'commander' from the group, were gunned down by security forces in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

A US-made M4 rifle used by Pakistani Army special forces was recovered following the encounter, which was hailed as a big "breakthrough" for the Indian Army.

An Army soldier was also killed in the fierce gunbattle in Aglar area last night and two AK-47 rifles recovered.

The militants gunned down by the security forces were identified as Mehmood Bhai, the so-called divisional commander of Jaish in the south, Tallah Rashid, Masood Azhar's nephew, and Wasim Ahmed Ganie.

With PTI inputs