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QUETTA: A top commander of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) sectarian militant group, Usman Saifullah Kurd, was killed in a clash with paramilitary troops in the Sariab Road neighbourhood of Quetta on Sunday, a senior official told The Express Tribune. Two paramilitary soldiers were wounded in the gunfight that also left Kurd’s companion dead.
Name: Usman Saifullah Kurd
Rank: Leader Balochistan Unit
Usman Saifullah aka Muhammad Gul
Father: Muhammad Noor
Caste: Kurd
Address: Killi Zarin, Mian Ghundi
Kurd had been condemned to death by an anti-terrorism court in 2003 for masterminding two terrorist attacks in Quetta which killed dozens of Shia community members. He was the most wanted fugitive since he had escaped from the high security Quetta cantonment jail in 2008. He was believed to be LeJ’s operational head in Balochistan and carried a bounty of Rs2.5 million.
Some reports suggested that Kurd was also the mastermind behind the January 30 bombing at Karbala Moalla Imambargah in Shikarpur which claimed over 60 lives.
The paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) confirmed that an operation was conducted against the LeJ in Saryab, but didn’t say anything about the death of Kurd. “Acting on a tip-off, the FC launched a massive search operation in Saryab against the LeJ. Armed men hiding in a compound opened fire on the paramilitary troops, injuring two of them,” the FC spokesperson told The Express Tribune.
The paramilitary troops shot and wounded two LeJ operatives and arrested a third in a retaliatory action, the spokesperson said, adding that the injured were subsequently driven to the Combined Military Hospital.
However, a senior official of the provincial government said the two terrorists succumbed to their injuries. “Head of LeJ’s Balochistan chapter Usman Saifullah Kurd is among the dead,” he told The Express Tribune. “Kurd’s companion was also killed in the clash.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2015.
Top LeJ commander killed in Quetta gunfight – The Express Tribune
Name: Usman Saifullah Kurd
Rank: Leader Balochistan Unit
Usman Saifullah aka Muhammad Gul
Father: Muhammad Noor
Caste: Kurd
Address: Killi Zarin, Mian Ghundi
Kurd had been condemned to death by an anti-terrorism court in 2003 for masterminding two terrorist attacks in Quetta which killed dozens of Shia community members. He was the most wanted fugitive since he had escaped from the high security Quetta cantonment jail in 2008. He was believed to be LeJ’s operational head in Balochistan and carried a bounty of Rs2.5 million.
Some reports suggested that Kurd was also the mastermind behind the January 30 bombing at Karbala Moalla Imambargah in Shikarpur which claimed over 60 lives.
The paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) confirmed that an operation was conducted against the LeJ in Saryab, but didn’t say anything about the death of Kurd. “Acting on a tip-off, the FC launched a massive search operation in Saryab against the LeJ. Armed men hiding in a compound opened fire on the paramilitary troops, injuring two of them,” the FC spokesperson told The Express Tribune.
The paramilitary troops shot and wounded two LeJ operatives and arrested a third in a retaliatory action, the spokesperson said, adding that the injured were subsequently driven to the Combined Military Hospital.
However, a senior official of the provincial government said the two terrorists succumbed to their injuries. “Head of LeJ’s Balochistan chapter Usman Saifullah Kurd is among the dead,” he told The Express Tribune. “Kurd’s companion was also killed in the clash.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 16th, 2015.
Top LeJ commander killed in Quetta gunfight – The Express Tribune
