LET COMMANDER LINKED TO J&K CIVILIAN KILLINGS GUNNED DOWN
The commander, who hailed from Pakistan, was killed in a gunfight in the Cheyan Devsar area
SRINAGAR: A top Lashkar-etaiba (LET) commander was among two terrorists who were killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Sunday, police said.
The encounter broke out after police and Army’s 9-RR jointly launched a search and cordon operation at Cheyan Devsar on Sunday morning.
“Two terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LET, including a Pakistani commander Haider, was killed,” the spokesperson said. Kashmir IG Vijay Kumar called Haider’s killing a big success. “Haider was involved in two recent terror crimes in Bandipora,” he added.
SRINAGAR : A top Lashkar-etaiba(let) commander from Pakistan was among the two militants killed in a gunfight with security forces in Kulgam district, 70km from Srinagar, on Sunday.
Acting on a tip-off regarding the presence of militants at Cheyan Devsar in Kulgam, the Jammu and Kashmir Police and Rashtriya Rifles, the Indian Army’s counter insurgency battalion, initiated a joint cordon and search operation in the area. A police spokesperson said, “When the search party approached the spot where the militants were suspected to be hiding, the terrorists opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated. Central Reserve Police Force personnel also joined the operation.”
“In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists of the proscribed terror outfit LET – Pakistani commander Haider and Shahbaz Shah of Kulgam – were killed. Their bodies have been retrieved from the encounter site,” he said.
Kashmir inspector general of police Vijay Kumar said, “Both the terrorists were involved in the recent killings of civilians and police personnel. Haider was involved in two recent terror crimes in Bandipora, while Shahbaz Shah was involved in the killing of a civilian belonging to minority community in Kulgam.”the police spokesperson said Haider was a categorized militant who had been active in north Kashmir for over two years, and had recently shifted his base to south Kashmir. “The slain LET commander was involved in the killings of selection
grade constable Mohammad Sultan and constable Fayaz Ahmad on November 10, 2021 at Gulshan Chowk, Bandipora. He was also involved in the attack on a checkpost near Nishat Park Bandipora on February 11, in which special police officer Zubair Ahmad was killed, and four other security personnel were injured, including three police personnel and an assistant subinspector of the Border Security Force,” the spokesperson said.
“Shah was involved in the killing of Satish Kumar Singh on April 13,2022 at Kakran area of Kulgam. After the attack, Shah
had been categorised as a terrorist,” the spokesperson said.
Police have recovered incriminating materials, arms and ammunition including an Ak-56 with four magazines, a pistol with a magazine, an under barrel grenade launcher, a pouch and ID cards, proving their affiliation to the LET from the encounter site. The Kulgam encounter comes two days after three Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed in south Kashmir’s Anantnag, including Ashraf Molvi, who was considered one of the oldest surviving militants in the Valley.