Srinagar: A top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander was among two militants killed in a fierce gunfight with army and police in north Kashmir’s Handwara area of remote Kupwara district.
Reports reaching GNS said that army’s 6 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of police on a tip-off about the presence of two foreign militants laid a siege around Sheikh Mohalla locality of Malikpora village in Vilgam area of Handwara this morning. As the joint team started search operation, the militants hiding in the house of Habibullah Sheikh, son of Abdullah Sheikh opened heavy fire and tried to break the cordon. However, the forces engaged the militants in a gunfight that lasted for about two hours.
During the exchange of fire, an army Major Sandeep Kotwal sustained bullet injuries in his abdomen. He was immediately rushed to Military Hospital Drugmalla for treatment where his condition is said to be stable.
Reports said that the militants offered stiff resistance to the forces and in retaliation, army blasted the house by firing heavy mortars and razed the residential house, in which militants had taken refuge, to the ground.
A police official in a statement issued to GNS identified the two slain militants as Abu Huriara and Abu Talha of LeT.
“Huriara was group Commander of LeT and both of them had infiltrated last year,” the spokesman said, adding: they were involved many cases of militancy-related incidents.
A defense official told GNS that huge cache of arms and ammunitions were recovered from the encounter site that included two AK-47 rifles with 25 rounds, three magazines, one mobile phone, two Chinese grenades, one compass, one pouch, two diaries, and currency worth Rs 2180. Besides this, three bottles of poison and two knives were also recovered from them.
“Abu Hurraira was overseeing Laskhar activities in Lolab Valley. Last year he shifted to state’s summer capital Srinagar where he gave slip to forces twice in Ahmad Nagar area,” the official said
“During one of the gunfights in Srinagar, he had injured at least eight policemen,” he added.
He said that Hurraira shifted to South Kashmir’s Tral after the fire fights in Srinagar and fifteen days ago had moved to Handwara. “He was hiding in the forest area and due to bad weather had moved into the village where he was killed,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the two slain militants have been taken by police for post-mortem, an official said. (GNS)