Ilyas Kashmiri, also referred to as Maulana Ilyas Kashmiri^[1] and Muhammad Ilyas Kashmiri^[2] is an Islamic militant connected with the Soviet-Afghan war, the Kashmir conflict and attacks against the government of Pakistan.^[3]

[edit] Military/militant career

Kashmiri came from the Kotli District of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and became a member of the elite Special Service Group.^[3] He was an active participant in the Soviet-Afghan War, training the Afghan mujahideen in mine warfare in Miranshah on behalf of Pakistan and at one point losing an eye.^[3] He continued his official militant work in Kashmir after the war as a member of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI), though disagreements with leader Qari Saifullah Akhtar several years after initially joining in 1991 led Kashmiri to establish his own new unit within HuJI know as the 313 Brigade.^[3][4]

During the mid-1990s Kashmiri and Nasrullah Mansoor Langrial were near Poonch when they were seized by the Indian Army and sent to prison, where he would spend the next two years before escaping and returning to Pakistan.^[3] Upon his return Kashmiri continued to conduct operations against India, once reportedly being rewarded personally with cash by then Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf for presenting the head of an Indian army sepoy to him.^[3][5]

[edit] Post-Kashmir activities

Kashmiri rejected orders to serve under Maulana Masood Azhar in the newly founded mujahideen organization Jaish-e-Mohammed and was even once targeted by the group.^[3] Falling out of favor with the Pakistani military, he was even taken into custody and tortured in late 2003 in the wake of an attempt to assassinate President Musharraf.^[3] From his February 2004 release^[2] until the 2007 Siege of Lal Masjid he apparently did little, but afterward he returned to the 313 Brigade in the terrorist organization Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, which is closely tied to Al-Qaeda. Kashmiri rebuilt its strength while collaborating with the Taliban. This was part of a broader movement of Kashmir militants moving to Waziristan,^[6] and Kashmiri reportedly moved personnel from his Kotli (Kashmir) training camp to a new one in Razmak (Waziristan).^[7] From this time until his reported death on September 7, 2009, he was associated with a number of attacks, including the killing of Ameer Faisal Alavi.^[3] According to Asia Times Online, Kashmiri was behind a 2008 plan to assassinate Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as he stepped out of his car during daily visits to a gym; however, the al-Qaeda leadership rejected the plan on strategic grounds.^[8]

[edit] Headley connection

On October 27, 2009, a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice named Kashmiri as a conspirator to whom an American citizen from Chicago, David Headley, arrested on terrorism related charges, "allegedly reported and attempted to report". The statement also noted that Kashimiri "issued a statement this month that he was alive and working with al Qaeda".^[9] A report on details of the investigation stated that Kashmiri "was in regular contact with Headley for some time and their communications suggested that they were in the process of plotting fresh attacks in India."^[10] Headley was reportedly distraught at news of Kashmiri's death, but after receiving confirmation that he was still alive, set off for Pakistan, at which time he was arrested by the FBI.^[11]

[edit] Reported death

Kashmiri was reported killed along with Hanifullah Janikhel and Kaleemullah in Machikhel, North Waziristan on September 7, 2009 when they were hit by a missile fired from a U.S. drone.^[12] At the time he was reportedly one of the top 10 most wanted militant commanders in Pakistan.^[7]

However, in mid October Kashmiri was reported to have survived the airstrike and granted an interview with Asia Times Online's Syed Saleem Shahzad.^[13] A senior American official was later quoted by The Washington Times as saying "While there were preliminary indications that Kashmiri may have been dead, there is now reason to believe that he could be alive".^[14]

[edit] References