Baramulla: Two Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants including a top commander of the outfit, were killed in an overnight gunfight at Warpora, Sopore, in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Friday, police said.
Police identified the slain LeT commander as Fayaz Ahmad War alias Rukana @ Umar of Warpora, Sopore, and another slain militant as Shaheen Ahmad Mir alias Shaheen Molvi of Cherpora, Budgam.
Police said that two AK47 riffles were recovered from the slain militants. Among the two recovered riffles included the one that had been snatched from a TA soldier in Khushipora militant attack on 26 November 2020, police said.
Army’s Chinar corps in a tweet said: “Hiding terrorists were given adequate opportunity to surrender, however, they brought indiscriminate fire on the security forces. In the ensuing gunfight, 2 terrorists were neutralised and 2 AK 47 riffles were recovered. All efforts were made to minimise the collateral damage.”
A police spokesperson said that based on specific information about the presence of militants in the Warpora village, a cordon and search operation was launched by the Sopore police, army’s 22 RR and 179, 177, 92 BN of CRPF on Thursday night.
“During the search operation, the terrorists hiding in a residential house fired upon the searching party, triggering a gunfight. During the ensuing overnight gunfight, two terrorists were killed,” he said.
The inspector general of police, Vijay Kumar, described the militant commander’s death a “huge success” for the police, and said that he was involved in several attacks and in the killings of civilians and security personnel.
Police said that War was the last of the three LeT commanders declared ‘most wanted militants’ who were carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh. Two of these LeT commanders, Khursheed Ahmad Mir and Mudasir Ahmad Pandit of Sopore were already killed in two separate encounters few months back in Sopore.