Jaish-e-Mohammaed terrorist, and allged mastermind of the 2016 Pathankot attack Shahid Latif was gunned down in a mosque in Daska town of Sialkot district in Pakistan, officials have said, according to news agency reports. Latif was one of India’s most wanted terrorists from Pakistan’s Gujranwala city and was a handler of the four terrorists, who sneaked into the Pathankot Air Force station in 2016.
Latif was known as the launching commander of the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Latif, also known as Bilal is a designated terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. According to reports, Latif was killed along with two of his associates by three gunmen.
“This is the biggest blow to JeM on Pakistan soil,” an official said. He was the commander of JeM in Sialkot for a long time and was involved in planning and coordination of several terror activities in India.
The 2016 Pathankot attack on an Indian Air Force (IAF) base saw four attackers and two security forces personnel die. Latif was wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Latif had infiltrated into the Kashmir Valley in 1993 and was arrested a year later. He was in Jammu jail with Masood Azhar, founder of the JeM, till 2010, officials said.
He was deported to Pakistan in 2010 following his release and formally joined the terror group, they said.
The Air Force Airbase in Pathankot came under attack by heavily armed terrorists on January 2, 2016. The gun battle, which lasted nearly four days, resulted in the death of seven security personnel and a civilian. Four attackers were also killed in the gunfight.
A day later, on January 3, another security officer at the airbase was killed following an IED explosion.
Along with Kashif Jan, who was also known as ‘Ustad Ji’, Latif was in continuous touch with four fidayeen attackers who had barged into the IAF base on January 1 2016 night.
The fidayeen attackers – Nasir Hussain, Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum, residents of Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh, killed seven security personnel, after which NSG (National Security Guards) and army commandoes launched ‘Operation Dhangu’ and eliminated the terrorists in an 80-hour long operation.
