Sopore, Sep 13: Police on Tuesday claimed to have killed the divisional commander of militant outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba, Abdullah Unni, in a gunfight in this north Kashmir town. Police termed the killing as one of the biggest successes against militants during last few years.
Superintendent of Police Sopore, Imtiyaz Hussain, said that acting on a tip off police and Army cordoned off Baghat Mohalla Batpora area of the town this morning.
“When we were laying cordon, Unni escaped from the house of Tariq Ahmed where he was hiding and shifted to an abandoned house. Then he fired on the cordon party which was retailed, triggering an encounter. In the ensuing encounter we killed him,” he said. Imtiyaz said as per the rules of burying non-local militants Unni will be buried in Dangiwacha graveyard.
Sources said that SP Sopore also sustained splinter injuries in his foot during the gunfight.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Inspector General of Police SM Sahai said killing of Unni was one of the biggest successes against militancy in recent years. “It will have psychological impact on the militancy as we eliminated him despite him managing to escape several times. It will also demoralize other militants active in the Valley and with his killing infrastructure built for the militants by him in north Kashmir especially Sopore has been wiped out,” he said.
The IGP said he was also involved in civilian killings including Moulana Showkat Ahmad Shah’s assassination.
“We have also charge sheeted him in Moulana’s killing in court along with other accused,” he said, adding that he masterminded the killings of forces including policemen in the town.
Fearing law and order disturbance in Sopore in the wake of the killing, large contingents of police and paramilitary CRPF were deployed in the town.
Abdullah Unni is believed to have infiltrated through Rajwar area of Handwara during 2005 earthquake.
Sources in Jammu and Kashmir Police told Greater Kashmir that his original name was Azhar Malik and hails from Multan area of Pakistan.
“Unni worked under LeT commander Abu Hurrera during the initial years in Lolab forests. Then he shifted to Sopore in 2007 and took charge of the outfit after killing of LeT chief Hafiz Nasir in a gunfight in Chatloora Rafiabad in 2008,” they said.
According to them, Unni along with Nauman of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Dawood of Hizbul-Mujahideen revived militancy in the Sopore town last year.
They said he managed to escape from forces’ cordon five times since his arrival in the Valley.
“He first gave slip to Special Operation Group of police in Lolab and then four times to police and Army in Sopore last year,” they said, adding that he was injured in Warpora last year but managed to dodge forces there.
“We couldn’t confirm his presence in the three day Sopore encounter last year in which his intern Salahudin was killed,” they disclosed.
Unni carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head.

569 PAK MILITANTS KILLED IN 12 YEARS:
As many as 569 Pakistani militants were killed in the state in the past 12 years, the Jammu and Kashmir Police said.
Most of the Pakistani militants killed were affiliated to Lashkar-e-Toiba, according to statistics posted on the state police website.
A total of 323 militants were killed from 1998 to 2002 when LeT and Jaish-e-Muhammad outfits launched a series of suicide attacks on military and police installations.
The four-year period coincided with eruption of Kargil war when the influx of Pakistani militants affiliated to LeT and Jaish-e-Muhammad increased into the state.
The number of Pakistani militants killed in the state declined after 9/11 terror strikes in the US, apparently due to the pressure exerted by Washington on Islamabad to curb militant activities on its soil.
The data showed 127 identified Pakistani militants were killed from January 2003 to December 2004.
The lowest number of Pakistani militants, 103, were killed between January 2005 and December 2009, it said.
Sixteen militants from the neighbouring country were killed in the first four months of 2010.
The data gave names and residential details of the killed militants who had come from Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Peshawar and other Pakistani cities.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:00:00 IST