Srinagar, India: A top Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) commander and a policeman were killed and four others injured in an overnight gun battle in Sopore town of North Kashmir. The firefight commenced at Bhagat Mohalla, 55 kms from Sopore, when militants opened fire on a search party of the special operations group (SOG) of local police, around 9.50 AM on Monday. A policeman identified as Ghulam Hassan was injured in the firing and was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, said a police spokesperson.
SOG personnel and security forces then tightened the cordon around the house in which the militants were hiding and engaged them. In the firefight, the militant was killed and four others ,two civilians, a policeman and a security personnel , were injured, the spokesperson added. He said the body of the militant, believed to be a Pakistan national, was recovered from the house this morning.
Sources identified the slain militant as top LeT commander Zubair.Zubair, who usually disguised as a Jammu and Kashmir policeman, was involved in several killings, including the gunning down of four CRPF personnel earlier this year. Security forces suspect that another militant was killed in the encounter and are looking for the body in the debris. The search operations are still on in the vicinity.
