IAF Garud commando killed, 6 militants shot dead in J&K
ENCOUNTER 26/11 attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi’s nephew among those killed
SRINAGAR : A commando of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Garud Force and six Laskhar-e-Taiba militants, including nephew of the 2008 Mumbai attacks master mind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, were killed in a gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Saturday, police said.
Defence ministry spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said troopers of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR), Special Operations Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) surrounded Chandergair village in Hajin.
As the cordon around the hiding militants was tightened, they fired at the security forces, triggering a gun battle in which IAF’s commando was killed, while six militants were also neutralised, he said.
Confirming the news on Twitter, director general of police SP Vaid said the encounter had ended and added that weapons and ammunition had been recovered. LeT commanders Zargam and Mehmood were killed in the operation along with Owaid, Lakhvi’s nephew, Vaid said.
Last month, two Garud commandos, who were part of a joint security team, were killed in a gunfight with militants in Bandipora district.
The Garud Commando Force is the special forces unit of the IAF. It was formed in 2004 with the aim of carrying out counterterror operations and is working with the army for operational experience and training. They are trained to guard air force bases, besides fighting insurgents and participating in search and rescue operations.
The need for a specialised team of air force commandos was felt after militants tried to attack two air bases in Jammu and Kashmir in 2001.
Garud commandos led the operation against militants who targeted the Pathankot airbase in January 2016, one of the worst attacks on an IAF station that killed seven people, including three security personnel.