Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 18: A Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant was killed in a fierce encounter in the frontier district of Kupwara this morning and security forces are conducting searches to trace out his accomplices.
Army, police and CRPF this evening launched searches of several villages around Silkote village to trace out the accomplices of the militant who was killed today in the encounter. Sources said that the killed militant had to receive a militant group in the area and troops are searching those militants.
SP Kupwara, Mohammad Rashid Bhat, said that security forces received information about militant movement in the Peer Mohalla Silkote in Kupwara last night.
Bhat said that Army, police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cordoned off the area and launched searches. He said that the people of the area were being evacuated in the morning and in the meantime a militant came out of a house and opened fire on troops in which one Army jawan was injured.
The SP said that security forces returned the fire leading to a gun battle in which the militant was killed. He said that the identity of the militant is being ascertained.
Sources said that acting on specific information about the presence of militants, a joint team of Army’s 4 para, 41 RR, 98 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police cordon off Peer Mohalla Silkote at around 2:00 am and conducted searches.
The militant who was hiding inside the house of Tariq Ahmad Shah opened fire on the troops injuring a soldier Kuldeep Singh (belt no. 13772750) of 4 Para.
Police said: “One AK rifle, 3 magazines, one Radio Set and some documents were recovered from the encounter site.”
A defence spokesman said here that based on specific intelligence about presence of a militant in Silkote village near Kupwara, an operation was launched by the Army in the early morning resulting in contact being established and the killing of one foreign militant belonging to LeT.
A senior Army spokesman quoting Lt Gen Subrata Saha, GOC Chinar Corps said: “The input was received from an intelligence agency and the slain terrorist was a foreign terrorist from the LeT. Based on a study of the recoveries from the slain terrorist, it is assessed that he was preparing to receive a group.”
The spokesman said that after the Army established an effective cordon, the soldiers first evacuated the occupants of the house to safety to ensure no innocent gets caught in the expected crossfire. “When the terrorist holed up in the house realized the occupants had been evacuated, he opened fire against the soldiers resulting in a fierce firefight. The retaliation by the Army resulted in the terrorist being killed and an Army jawan receiving a gunshot wound. The injured soldier was evacuated and is out of danger”, the spokesman said.
“The area around the house which was effectively cordoned, sealing the escape routes in case more terrorists were present, was searched thoroughly before giving the all clear. The body of the terrorist has been recovered along with one AK 47 and miscellaneous warlike stores”, the spokesman said.
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