Top LeT militant Usman among 3 killed in Sopore gunfight

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 12

Three militants, including a top Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, were killed during a day-long encounter with the security forces in the Rebban area of Sopore in north Kashmir today.

The Pakistani militant, identified by the police as Usman of the LeT, was involved in the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Sopore on July 1. One CRPF jawan and a civilian were killed in the encounter.

Though a cordon and search operation was launched around midnight after the security forces received inputs about the presence of militants in the area, the encounter started at around 4 am.

The police termed the killing of Usman a big success for the police and security forces and said it had recovered arms and ammunition, besides incriminating material from the encounter site.

Meanwhile, two grenades were hurled at the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) at Chersoo, Awantipora, in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. However, the grenades did not explode.

The police said militants on a bike threw the grenades without removing the pin. No explosion took place, but efforts were on to nab them.