Abid Bashir
Srinagar (NVI): A Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist was arrested today during a cordon and search operation at Khojpora village of South Kashmir’s Shopian district, police said.
A police officer said that acting on a specific input about the presence of a Lashkar terrorist, who had recently joined the outfit, in village Khojipora, a cordon and search operation was launched jointly by the teams of Army and police in the wee hours.
“When the suspected house was zeroed in, the terrorist who was hiding, was cornered from all sides and offered surrender. He accepted the offer and was caught alive,” the officer said.
The arrested terrorist was identified as Zakir Ahmed Khan of Shopian district who had joined the Lashkar outfit a few weeks ago. Police recovered a 9 MM pistol, two magazines and 12 rounds.
A case has been registered in Zainapora police station and investigations have been taken up to find out the involvement of the arrested terrorist in various crimes.
The arrest of the terrorist comes at a time when security forces have stepped up anti-militancy operations across Kashmir, especially in the southern belt of Kashmir.
This year so far, 89 militants including top commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed were killed in various encounters. Since March 20, when Covid-19 pandemic stepped into the Union Territory, 55 militants have been killed including Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief operational commander Reyaz Naikoo.
