Home
Lashkar commander among 2 killed in Handwara encounter
Published on
Monday, 10 March 2014
8:36 pm
//
News Ticker
,
Top Stories
Srinagar: A top Lashkar-e-Toiba commander was among two
militants killed in a fierce gunfight with army and police in north Kashmir's
Handwara area of remote Kupwara district.
Reports reaching GNS said that army's 6 Rashtriya Rifles
(RR) and Special Operation Group (SOG) of police on a tip-off about the
presence of two foreign militants laid a siege around Sheikh Mohalla locality
of Malikpora village in Vilgam area of Handwara this morning. As the joint team
started search operation, the militants hiding in the house of Habibullah
Sheikh, son of Abdullah Sheikh opened heavy fire and tried to break the cordon.
However, the forces engaged the militants in a gunfight that lasted for about two
hours.
During the exchange of fire, an army Major Sandeep Kotwal
sustained bullet injuries in his abdomen. He was immediately rushed to Military
Hospital Drugmalla for treatment where his condition is said to be stable.
Reports said that the militants offered stiff resistance
to the forces and in retaliation, army blasted the house by firing heavy
mortars and razed the residential house, in which militants had taken refuge,
to the ground.
A police official in a statement issued to GNS identified
the two slain militants as Abu Huriara and Abu Talha of LeT.
"Huriara was group Commander of LeT and both of them
had infiltrated last year," the spokesman said, adding: they were involved
many cases of militancy-related incidents.
A defense official told GNS that huge cache of arms and
ammunitions were recovered from the encounter site that included two AK-47
rifles with 25 rounds, three magazines, one mobile phone, two Chinese
grenades, one compass, one pouch, two diaries, and currency worth Rs 2180.
Besides this, three bottles of poison and two knives were also recovered from
them.
“Abu Hurraira was overseeing Laskhar activities in Lolab
Valley. Last year he shifted to state’s summer capital Srinagar where he gave
slip to forces twice in Ahmad Nagar area,” the official said
“During one of the gunfights in Srinagar, he had injured
at least eight policemen,” he added.
He said that Hurraira shifted to South Kashmir’s Tral
after the fire fights in Srinagar and fifteen days ago had moved to Handwara.
“He was hiding in the forest area and due to bad weather had moved into the
village where he was killed,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the two slain militants have
been taken by police for post-mortem, an official said. (GNS)
0 comments