Top LeT man among 3 killed in gunbattle

A top commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba is among three Islamic militants killed in fire-fights with the security forces at Lolab Valley near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Saturday evening.

The operation, which has been going on for the past 24 hours, begun after one or two accomplices of some slain militants fled into the nearby forest at Dardpora-Lolpora’s Lohar Mohalla in Lolab Valley.

As per intelligence reports, the militants group had been active in Lolab Valley since it sneaked into Jammu and Kashmir from PoK about six months back. The group leader, among the three slain militants, has been identified as Lashkar’s one of the top commanders known by Abu Osama and Abu Darar. He is believed to be a resident of PoK.

Officials said the fighting broke out soon after troops from the Army’s 28 Rashtriya Rifles and the J&K police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) launched an operation against the militants in Lohar Mohalla on Friday evening. One militant was killed in the initial exchange of fire late on Friday, while two others were killed on Saturday.

Several areas in the district, including Dardpora, observed a shutdown to mourn the deaths and clashes with the police have also been reported.