The Pakistani special forces officer who claimed the capture of Indian fighter pilot Abhinandan Varthaman during the 2019 Balakot airstrike has reportedly been killed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan, sources told NDTV Wednesday.
The TTP is an armed Islamist group operating along the Pak-Afghan border.
Major Syed Muiz, posted to the Pak Special Service Group’s 6th Commando Battalion, was reportedly killed while fighting in the Sarargoha area in Pak’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Sources said his death was claimed by the TTP, also called the ‘Pakistani Taliban’.
Group Captain Varthaman, then a Wing Commander, became a national hero after shooting down a Pak F-16 fighter jet – in a generation-older MiG 21 – during aerial combat on February 27.
Unfortunately, during the dogfight he flew over parts of Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan, and his plane was hit. The brave fighter pilot had to eject over territory controlled by the enemy.
READ | Abhinandan Varthaman, The Pilot Who May Have Averted An India-Pak War
He was captured by the Pak Army and spent nearly 60 hours in enemy hands. Eventually Pak was forced to release him due to extensive pressure exerted by India and the global community.
In November 2021 he was promoted to Group Captain and received the Vir Chakra.
The Balakot airstrikes were India’s response to the Pulwama terror attack, in which a security forces convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber driving a Maruti Suzuki Eeco van.
The suicide attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama was ordered by the Jaish (File).
Forty soldiers were killed in that attack.
The terrorist – later identified as Adil Ahmad Dir – had been trained by banned, Pak-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed. India’s retaliatory airstrikes involved a dozen Mirage jets streaking 20km past the Line of Control and into Pak-controlled territory to destroy JeM training camps.
The entire operation lasted less than 20 minutes.
NDTV Exclusive | What Happened At Balakot? Unreleased Satellite Pics Show Story
NDTV later established that Spice 2000 ‘glide bombs’ were used and hit five separate structures along a ridge-line to the west of Bisian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
