 "Top LeT commander among two terrorists gunned down in J-K's Sopore")
Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists, including a top commander of the outfit, were killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in the Sopore area of Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district, police said on Friday.
A police spokesperson said the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Warpora area of Sopore on Thursday, following specific information about the presence of ultras there.
"During the search operation, as the presence of terrorists got ascertained, they were given repeated opportunities to surrender. However, instead of surrendering, they fired indiscriminately upon the joint search party which was retaliated, leading to an encounter," he said.
In the ensuing encounter, two "categorised terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT" were killed, and their bodies were retrieved from the site of encounter, the official said.
He identified them as Fayaz Ahmad War, alias Rukana, alias Umar, of Warpora, who was a top commander of the LeT, and Shaheen Ahmad Mir, alias Shaheen Molvi, of Cherpora Budgam.
"As per police records, both the slain terrorists were part of groups involved in various terror crime cases and several terror crime cases were registered against them," he added.
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The spokesman said War had been associated with terrorism since 2008.
"Although he had surrendered earlier with arms and ammunition, after his release, he again worked as a terrorist associate for proscribed terror outfit HM and was detained under PSA. However, after his release in March 2020, he joined terrorist ranks of proscribed terror outfit LeT," he said.
Besides being part of groups involved in several terror crime cases, War was very instrumental in planning and executing terror attacks on security establishments and civilian killings, and figured among the list of most-wanted terrorists in north Kashmir, the spokesperson said.
"He was the last active terrorist who perpetrated a series of various terror crimes and violence in north Kashmir which included attack on police party at Warpora Sopore in March last year in which one police personnel and a civilian got killed and the attack on joint naka party at Ahad Baba crossing on in April last year in which three CRPF personnel got killed," he said.
The spokesman said War was also involved in the killing of a civilian, Danish Manzoor Naja of Eidipora Bomai, and an attack on a joint naka party at Model Town Sopore in which another civilian and a CRPF trooper were killed.
He was involved in the killing of two municipal councillors and a policeman near SDH Sopore on June 12, and two police personnel and two civilians at Main Chowk, Sopore, the official added.
War was also involved in a series of grenade attacks on police and security establishments, he said.
Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition, including two AK-47 rifles and four magazines, were recovered from the site of the encounter, the spokesman said.
Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar congratulated police and security forces for conducting a successful operation in a professional manner without any collateral damage.