Pulwama terror attack mastermind Hamza Burhan killed by unknown gunmen in PoK

Hamza Burhan, a mastermind behind the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, was killed in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after being shot multiple times by unknown gunmen.

Hamza Burhan, believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 2019 Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of over 40 CRPF personnel, was killed on Thursday when unknown gunmen opened fire on him in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), sources said.

Burhan alias Arjumand Gulzar Dar alias Doctor, a commander of the Al Badr terror group, was designated as a terrorist by India in April 2022 for his involvement in a series of terror acts in Jammu and Kashmir.

He had been living undercover as a teacher in PoK following the Pulwama attack.

According to police, Burhan, a principal of a private college in Gojra, Muzaffarabad (about 135 km from Islamabad), was targeted when he came out of his college on Thursday morning.

The attackers fired multiple shots at close range, they said.

''The principal sustained three bullets to the head. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where he was put on a ventilator,'' police told reporters.

However, sources told PTI that Burhan died following the attack.

The police also claimed to have arrested a suspect and recovered the weapon used in the attack.

''After committing the crime, a suspect was fleeing on a motorcycle when local men overpowered him and handed him over to the police,'' an eyewitness said.

Dar, born in 1999, hailed from Ratnipora, Pulwama, in Jammu and Kashmir. He went to Pakistan on valid documents, where he joined the Al Badr terror group. According to the Union Home Ministry, Dar was an active terrorist and commander of Al Badr. Since going to Pakistan, Dar had been motivating youth to join Al Badr and funding the outfit's terror activities.