Alleged mastermind of UP blasts, Sabah shot dead

Jammu: The self-styled supreme commander of the banned Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HuJI) and the alleged mastermind of the UP serial blasts, Bashir Ahmed alias Sabah was on Friday shot dead by police in Kishtawar district.

The HuJI chief, who was being tracked by the Jammu and Kashmir police for nearly a month, was killed in an ambush by the commandos of the state police in Cahtru village of Kishtawar district, official sources said.

Ahmed, a resident of Kishtawar division, was being tracked after his name surfaced during the interrogation of militants arrested in connection with the serial blasts in three court premises of Uttar Pradesh in November last year that left over a dozen people dead and scores others injured.

A satellite phone, a wireless set and some AK rifles were recovered from the slain militant.