Srinagar: Two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants including outfit’s top commander Abrar were on Tuesday killed in a gunfight in Malhoora area on the outskirts of Srinagar city.
The other slain militant was a Pakistani, police said, adding that incriminating materials along with arms and ammunition were recovered. Searches of the encounter site were in progress.
Abrar was among two people apprehended by police on Monday at a naka in Parimpora.
Giving details, police said that “there was a specific input about (militants) carrying an attack on highway. Keeping in view the seriousness of the input few joint nakas of JKP & CRPF were place along the highway. On Parimpora Naka a vehicle was stopped and their identity was asked.” The person sitting at the back seat tried to open his bag and took out a grenade, police said.
“The Naka party swiftly swung into action and grabbed the person sitting at the back seat. Both the driver and the person sitting at the back seat were taken into police station where after taking off his mask it was identified that he was terrorist Abrar a top LeT Commander.” He was put to joint interrogation by JKP, CRPF and Army.
One Pistol and hand grenades were recovered from his possession, police said. “On sustained interrogation by the joint teams of JKP, CRPF & Army he disclosed that he had kept his AK-47 rifle in a house located at Maloora,” police said, adding,
” There after he was taken to that house to recover the weapon after laying proper cordon of suspected house.”
When the party was entering the house to recover the alleged weapon, one of his associate, a Pakistani militant “(about whom he didn’t disclose anything) hiding inside the house fired on the party.”
In the initial fire fight, three CRPF personnel got injured and the Abrar accompanying the search party got hit, the police said.
“The injured security force personnel were evacuated and the rest of the party took position and called for reinforcement. The cordon of target house was strengthened by component of JKP, CRPF & Army and the fire was further retaliated.”
In the ensuing gun fire foreign militant who fired from inside the house “got neutralised and Abrar also got killed.” Two AK-47 rifles along with ammunitions were recovered from the site.
“It is pertinent to mention that Abrar was involved in several killings of SFs along with other (militants).