Top LeT commander among three killed in J&K gunfight
SRINAGAR: A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander and two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces at Malwah area of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, police said on Thursday, adding that five security personnel and a civilian were injured in the gunbattle.
A J&K police spokesperson said that the encounter was ongoing and that two more terrorists were holed up in the area.
The LeT commander, identified as Yousuf Kantroo, alias Isaah, was one of the most wanted terrorists currently operating in the Valley, inspector general of police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said.
According to the spokesperson, police and the army launched an operation in Malwah village on Wednesday night based on inputs about the possible presence of terrorists in the area. The terrorists opened fire on the search team, wounding three soldiers and a civilian. Kantroo. The commander and two terrorists were killed in the gunfight, the spokesperson said.
“Top LeT terrorist Commander Yousuf Kantroo killed in Baramulla encounter. He was involved in several killings of civilians & SFs personnel including recent killing of JKP’s SPO & his brother, one Soldier and one civilian in Budgam district. A big success for us,” IGP Kumar said in a tweet.
Kantroo was also responsible for the killing of Block Development Council chairman Sardar Bhupinder Singh on September 23, 2020, in his own native place in Khag area of Budgam district, Kumar added.
In August last year, J&K Police had released the names of 10 mostwanted militants operating in Kashmir -- Kantroo was among those on this list. He joined terror ranks in early 2000s, the spokesperson said. “Kantroo earlier joined as an OGW (overground worker) of HM (Hizbul Mujahideen) outfit and was arrested in the year 2005. Later on, he was released in the year 2008 but he again joined terrorist ranks in the year 2017 and started killing innocent civilians, policemen and political workers. Later on, he switched from HM to LeT. However, the identification of the other killed terrorists are being ascertained,” the spokesperson said.