Who was Rauf Azhar, IC 814 hijacking mastermind killed in ‘Operation Sindoor’?

Abdul Rauf Azhar, brother of the Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist Masood Azhar, was killed during a missile strike conducted by India in Bahawalpur on Wednesday under Operation Sindoor, along with nine other members of his family.

Also Read: Operation Sindoor: Who all from Masood Azhar's family were killed in Indian strike?

Under Operation Sindoor, the Indian military destroyed nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).  The strikes were carried out in retaliation for the Pahalagam attack, which claimed 26 lives.

Who is Rauf Azhar?

Mufti Abdul Rauf Azhar, along with Masood Azhar, was behind the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in December 1999 when it was en route from Kathmandu to Delhi.

The flight was taken over by five terrorists of the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and taken to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. Masood Azhar, later went on to head the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Also Read: Remembering IC-814 hijacking and birth of Pak terror monster Masood Azhar

Though better known as the brother of Masood Azhar, Abdul Rauf Azhar was designated as a terrorist by the United States Treasury on December 2, 2010. The US treasury department cited his involvement in “recruiting operatives and planning attacks in India and Afghanistan," and categorised him as a global threat.

Also Read: India slams China's Global Times on false info on Operation Sindoor: 'Verify your facts'

After Masood Azhar went underground, Rauf Azhar became the de-facto leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed on 21 April 2007.

Since it was founded in 2000, the Jaish-e-Mohammad under the control of the two brothers was implicated in several terrorist attacks in India, including the 2001 Parliament attack, the 2002 murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, 2016 Pathankot attack and the 2019 Pulwama attack.

India pushed to have Rauf Azhar blacklisted by the United Nations Security Council’s 1267 Sanctions Committee in 2022, but the move was blocked by China, citing the need for “further evidence."