2 top LeT men among 6 ultras killed in 4 days

Infiltration from PoK down by 50%: J&K DIG

Jammu and Kashmir’s director general of police Dilbagh Singh on Thursday claimed that the security forces combating a three-decade old insurgency in the erstwhile state have wreaked the leadership structure of separatist militant organisations apart by killing as many 26 of their top commanders in, so far, this year.

He said that two of them — both belonging to outlawed Lashkar-e-Tayabba (LeT) — were “neutralised” in the past three days along with four other militants in three separate operations.

Mr Singh also claimed that infiltration of militants from across the border had decreased by half this year. “The alertness of our forces and border management are so good that for the first time the level of infiltration has come down by fifty percent when compared to the past. Also, the local recruitment into the militant outfits has decreased considerably. I think people, particularly our children are listening to our advice and appeals and staying away from the gun”.

Speaking to reporters in Handwara town , he said, “We’ve succeeded in breaking the leadership structure of militants in Kashmir. Twenty-six top most commanders have been killed in encounters across the Valley, so far, this year.”

Taking about the killing of LeT commander Naseer-ud-Din Lone along with another militant in the latest gunfight with security forces that took place in Kralgund area of Handwara, the DGP said, “He was involved in the killing of six CRPF personnel in two separate terror attacks besides similar other acts including the murder of a local policeman. We had had reports that he was planning to carry out a big strike in north Kashmir after the killing of Sajad Ahmed Mir alias Sajad Hyder.” Mir, also a senior commander of the LeT, was among three militants killed in a gunfight with security forces in Kreeri area of neighbouring Bandipore district earlier this week.

The group led by Mir had on Monday killed two CRPF jawans and a local Special Police Officer in a sneak attack carried out by them in Kreeri. In the ensuing encounter which continued for about thirty hours, all the three assailants including Mir, his close associate Innayatullah and their Pakistani aide Osman and two Army jawans Grenadiers Ravi Kumar Singh and Prashant Singh were killed.

◗ LOCAL RECRUITMENT into the militant outfits has decreased considerably. I think people, particularly our children, are listening to our advice and appeals and staying away from the gun, J&K DIG Dilbagh Singh said.