Top LeT commander in Kashmir among 2 killed in Pampore gunfight

Srinagar : Top Lashkar-e-Taiba militant Umar Khandey involved in the killing of policemen, and included in the 10 most-wanted terrorists list in the Kashmir Valley, was killed in a gunfight in Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Awantipora sub district on Saturday along with another militant, police said.

The third Kashmir gunfight over the past 15 hours broke out in the early hours when joint teams of security forces launched an operation after receiving information about the presence of militants at Drangbal Pampore.

Police tweeted: “2 #terrorists killed. #Incriminating materials including arms & ammunition recovered. #Search going on…”

One of the slain militants was identified as Khandey who police said was involved in the killing of two policemen in Bagat, Srinagar.

“LeT #terrorist Umar Mustaq Khandey who martyred our 2 colleagues SgCT Mohammad Yousf and Ct Suhail Ah in Baghat Srinagar while they were having tea, #neutralised in Drangbal, #Pampore.

“Amongst various other crimes of the terrorists, this stands out as most unforgivable,” another tweet said, adding. “We are committed to #hunt down these #terrorists who try to create fear among masses and spread mischief & tumult in the valley. Such elements and their name should be excised from society.”

Earlier, Kashmir Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said the two militants were hiding in a concrete three-story structure.

In August, Khandey was named among top 10 militants in Kashmir. “Top 10 #targets: #Old #terrorists- Salim Parray, Yousuf Kantroo, Abbas Sheikh, Reyaz Shetergund, Farooq Nali, Zubair Wani & Ashraf Molvi. #New #terrorists- Saqib Manzoor, Umer Mustaq Khandey & Wakeel Shah: IGP Kashmir,” Kashmir police tweeted on August 2.

On Friday evening, two local militants were killed in two separate encounters in Pulwama and Srinagar. Police said the two were involved in the recent killings of a civilian and a Probationary Police Sub-Inspector in Srinagar. They were also “collaborators in recent killings of one chemist and two teachers in Srinagar”, police said.

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