M A I N   N E W S

Three foreign militants killed in Valley gunfight
Tribune News Service

Firemen douse the blaze in a house after the gun battle in Kupwara on Tuesday. Photo: Amin War

Srinagar, December 3
Security forces gunned down three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including a top commander, after a 15-hour encounter in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday.

The gunfight broke out between the Special Operation Group - comprising the J&K Police, 21 Rastriya Rifles, 30 RR and the CRPF - and militants on Monday evening in Ganai Mohalla of Rajpora Handwara, 90 km from Srinagar. The SOG had a specific tip-off that militants were hiding in a house in the area. As they cordoned off the building, the militants opened fire triggering an encounter.

“Three militants were killed in the encounter,” DIG (north Kashmir), JP Singh, told The Tribune. “We have retrieved the bodies.” The three foreign militants were identified as divisional commander Abu Waqaas, Qari Nomaan and Ubaid. “The trio was instrumental in receiving fresh recruits from across the border,” a police spokesman in Srinagar said.

The spokesman said two Army jawans were also injured in the encounter. The house in which the three militants were holed up also suffered major damage. “The militants were hiding in a two- storey house belonging to Ghulam Nabi and Wali Mohammad Ganie,” said a local resident.

Holed up in house

• The Special Operation Group received a tip off that militants were hiding in a house at Rajpora Handwara in Kupwara district
• As security forces cordoned off the building, the militants opened fire triggering an encounter.
• A divisional commander of LeT and his two aides were killed in the gun battle. Two Army jawans were also hurt.