Operation Sindoor: Who Were the ‘High-Value’ Terrorists Killed by Indian Forces?

Among those mentioned by the Indian Army were Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed.

The Indian Army mentioned three 'high-value' terrorists who were killed among others.

(Photo: The Quint)

Edited by: Aditya Menon

In a joint-press briefing conducted by the Indian military on Sunday, 11 May, Director General of Military Operations Lt. General Rajiv Ghai confirmed the names of "high-value targets" in Pakistan killed in the Operation Sindoor strikes.

Some of the names given are: Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed.

"Those strikes across those nine terror hubs left more than 100 terrorists killed, including high-value targets such as Yusuf Azhar, Abdul Malik Rauf and Mudasir Ahmed that were involved in the hijack of IC814 and the Pulwama blast," he said.

Others mentioned were Hafiz Mohammed Jaleel, eldest brother-in-law of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar. Jaish's Mohammad Hassan Khan and Lakshar-e-Taiba's (LeT) Khalid alias Abu Akasha were also killed, the army has claimed.

On Monday, 12 May, during their press briefing, Ghai said, "In the last few years, the character of terrorist activities have changed. Innocent civilians were being attacked.. 'Pahalgam tak paap ka ye ghada bhar chuka tha'..." (After Pahalgam, the sins reached a tipping point).

But who are these 'high-value' terrorists as mentioned by the Indian Army? The Quint takes a closer look.

Yusuf Azhar — Wanted in IC-814 Hijack Case

Among the terrorists the armed forces claim to have killed were Masood Azhar’s brothers-in-law Hafiz Muhammed Jameel and Mohammad Yusuf Azhar. The were killed when the Indian forces targeted and destroyed nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the government said.

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Yusuf Azhar was reportedly known as Ustad Ji, Mohd Salim or Ghori Sahab.

He was a senior JeM member who was allegedly linked to the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 from Kathmandu to Delhi. In exchange for over 170 passengers and 11 crew members in the flight, India released terrorists Masood Azhar, Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar.

He had handled the weapons training for the terror outfit. Although he was wanted in the IC-814 case, he was also reportedly involved in multiple terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

This was not the first time Yusuf was targeted. In 2019, when India responded to the Pulwama attack, the then foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale had confirmed that India had 'struck the biggest training camp of JeM in Balakot." This camp was run by Yusuf.

While Gokhale didn't say anything about Yusuf having being killed, many Indian news channels and organisations jumped the gun and ran stories claiming that he had been eliminated.

In 2002, India handed over a list of 20 most wanted criminals to Pakistan. Yusuf Azhar’s name featured in the document. He was also on Interpol’s Red Notice list since 2000.

Abdul Malik Rauf

Abdul Malik Rauf was one of the terrorists eliminated on 7 May in Operation Sindoor, the armed forces claimed.

Tabish Qayyum, spokesperson of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League, a political wing of Jamaat-ud-Dawa confirmed to PTI that a funeral was in fact, held for Qari Abdul Malik, Khalid and Mudassir in Muridke amid high security.

The funeral for the terrorists were also held and the visuals had gone viral on social media. But the man who was leading their funeral prayer came into limelight: Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a US designated terrorist.

On 8 May, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri held up the photo to show that LeT terrorist Hafiz Abdul Rauf was seen leading funeral prayers.

Here's the catch. Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in this press conference two days ago, had contested this. They spelled his name as 'Abdur.' They played Rauf's video who contradicted these claims.

Armed forces stated that the funeral was lead by Abdul/Abdur Rauf.

(Photo: MoD briefing).

They showed a photo of personal details of Abdur Rauf to prove that he was a local cleric. But, his date of birth and CNIC (Computerized National Identity Card) number matched with the list of US Treasury Department, proving that he is on their list too.

DG ISPR Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry showed this photo in a press conference.

(Photo: DG ISPR/YouTube)

Hafiz Abdur Rauf's details such as DOB and CNIC number match with US' sanctions list.

(Photo: US Treasury Department)

Mudasir Ahmed — Behind Pulwama Attack

Mudasir Ahmed, as per the army, was a senior LeT operative and was in charge of Markaz Taiba in Muridke, the terrorist outfit's headquarters.

Details of Mudasir Ahmed as provided by the DGMO.

(Photo: MoD/YouTube)