Jaish-e-Mohammed Commander Abdul Rauf Azhar Killed in Pakistan Strike

New Delhi: Abdul Rauf Azhar, the supreme commander of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), was killed in an airstrike in Punjab province, Pakistan, as part of Operation Sindoor. He was the brother of Masood Azhar, the founder of JeM and a UN-designated global terrorist.
The strike targeted a JeM compound in Bahawalpur. Sources confirmed the deaths of ten of Masood Azhar’s family members, including his sister and brother-in-law. Jaish-e-Mohammed has publicly acknowledged the incident.
Abdul Rauf Azhar assumed leadership of Jaish-e-Mohammed in April 2007. He was a key architect behind numerous terror operations targeting India, including the 1999 hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which led to the release of his brother, Masood Azhar.
He is believed to have coordinated several major terror attacks in India, including the 2001 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly bombing, the Indian Parliament attack the same year, the 2016 assault on the Pathankot Air Force base, and strikes on army camps in Nagrota and Kathua. He was also linked to the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing that killed 40 CRPF personnel. He was also linked to the abduction and murder of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl.
Azhar had been designated a terrorist by Indian authorities and international agencies. His death marks a significant setback for Jaish-e-Mohammed’s operational command.