Srinagar: A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant from Pakistan was killed in an encounter with security forces in Bandipora district of north Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.
Police along with the troops of 26 Assam Rifles and CRPF launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Chandaji area of Bandipora in north Kashmir “following inputs about the presence of terrorists there,” police spokesman said in a statement.
He said the search operation “turned into an encounter after the terrorists fired upon the forces, who retaliated.
“In the exchange of firing, one terrorist was killed,” the official said.
“The slain terrorist is identified as Babar Ali – he has managed to escape from the Shokbaba encounter site on July 24,” the spokesman said, adding that Ali was a resident of Ugada district of Punjab in Pakistan and his body was retrieved from the site of the encounter.
“Pertinently three LeT terrorists including Sharik Altaf, were killed in the Shokbaba encounter,” the spokesman recalled adding that Ali had managed to escape from the site and was being continuously tracked thereafter.
After pinpointing his presence in the Chandaji forest area on Tuesday, an operation was launched by the security forces, he said.
Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition, including an AK-rifle, two AK-magazines, 40 AK-rounds, a pouch, a wireless set and a medicine bag were recovered from the site of the encounter, the spokesman said.
He said Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kashmir, Vijay Kumar has congratulated the joint team of police and security forces “for successfully tracking down the terrorist and conducting operation in a professional manner without any collateral damage”.
