An old picture of Zeenat ul Islam. (Source: IE image)

After the death of Abu Ismail, the mastermind behind the July 10 Amarnath attack, which killed seven people, Zeenat ul Islam alias Alqama has been elevated as the new Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander in Kashmir, reported India Today while citing intelligence inputs. Abu Ismail, a Pakistani terrorist was elevated to the post after the killing of Abu Dujana, another Pakistani terrorist and Lashkar commander who was gunned by the security forces in the valley. In case you don’t know who is Zeenat ul Islam, here are few facts about him:

1. The 28-year-old Zeenat ul Islam was reportedly recruited in Lashkar in November 2015. He is considered to be an expert with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

2. Islam was arrested for the first time in 2008 and was booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for being a member of Al-Badr. He was working as a ground worker for Al-Badr members, supplying them food and other things.

3. According to India Today, he was released in 2011 after which he worked with his father for a while before joining LeT. His father is an Imam (muezzin) in the local mosque.

4. Currently, Zeenat ul Islam is one of the five most wanted terrorists by the security forces in the Valley.

After his release in 2011, he initially worked with his father and got married before joining LeT. His father is an Imam (muezzin) in the local mosque. He completed his Bachelor of Arts from a local college.

The list includes Zakir Rashid Bhatt alias Musa who defected from Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and is now heading Ansar Gazhwat-ul Hind, Al Qaeda’s India branch; Reyaz AH Naikoo alias Zubair, tech savvy HM commander; Wasim AH, alias Osama, another LeT commander from Shopian who was in Burhan Wani’s group; and Abu Hamas, a Pak terrorist who is believed to head Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in India.

5. Zeenat was the main accused in the Shopian attack of February 23, 2017. Back then, the terrorists had attacked an army patrol in Mulu Chitragam area of the district which left three soldiers and a woman dead.