Srinagar: Three terrorists of Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), who were involved in the killing of a Sarpanch over a week back, were eliminated today in an encounter in Nowgam on the outskirts of Srinagar, police said.
With this, the security forces have smashed all the terror modules involved in the recent targeted killings in Kashmir, including that of panchayat members, an off-duty CRPF jawan and a soldier, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) Vijay Kumar said.
Talking about today’s encounter in Nowgam, Kumar said an input was received late last night about presence of 3-4 terrorists in a house.
As the police, Army and CRPF were laying a cordon and starting searches, the hiding terrorists opened fire at around 2 am, he said.
Amidst the firing by terrorists, security forces exercised restraint and first evacuated the civilians from the area.
In the ensuing encounter, three terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed, the IGP said.
The slain terrorists identified as Adil Nabi Teli, Shakir Ahmad Tantray and Yasir Ahmad Wagay were involved in the killing of Sarpanch Sameer Ahmed Bhat of Khonmoh on the outskirts of Srinagar on March 9, he said.
Adil, along with his associates, was also involved in killing of Inspector Pervaiz Ahmad Dar at Menganwari Nowgam on June 22, 2021, said a statement issued by the police.
Shakir and Yasir Ahmad were also involved in several terror crime cases including killing of ASI (Assistant Sub Inspector) Mohammad Ashraf near Police Station Bijbehara, Anantnag on December 22, 2021,” it said.
An AK-47 rifle and two pistols were recovered from the encounter site, the police said.
A statement issued by the Army said a soldier received a gunshot wound in the encounter.
The module was planning attack on security forces on the national highway, Kumar said.
