Srinagar: Two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants including the commander of the outfit, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Arigam, Devsar area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police and army said today.
Four security forces personnel including a police man were injured in the gunfight as well, Inspector General of Police Kashmir, V K Birdhi had told reporters earlier in the day,
Addressing a joint press conference along with the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Kashmir range, Javaid Iqbal Matoo, Commander 2 Sector RR, Brigadier Anirudh Chauhan, said that acting on a specific information early this morning, joint security forces laid a siege around the suspected spot at Arigam area of Kulgam.
“We were following the movements of this group since past one month. At 6:30 am, the militants tried to break the cordon but they were pushed back to enter the house,” the army officer said as “To ensure safety of the civilians, this operation took 12 hours.
Two militants were killed in the encounter after fierce exchange of fire. One of the slain militants has been identified as Umais Ahmed Wani of Kulgam, who was the commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba. His killing is obviously a big jolt for the Lashkar outfit.”
He said the operation reflected synergy among the security agencies and efforts to keep the peaceful atmosphere intact.
Present on the occasion, DIG South Kashmir Javaid Iqbal Matoo said that the Lashkar commander Umais was active since 2020 and there were many FIRs registered against him. “Umais was operating in south Kashmir districts. Second militant was identified as Aqib Ahmed Gojri who was active since 2022,” he said. “Gojri was also involved in multiple cases.”
Replying to a query about arms and ammunition recovered from the site of encounter, he said war like stores have been recovered by the forces. “To confirm the final identity, we have taken the DNA samples of the slain terrorists as well,” he said. (News Vibes of India)
