Jammu: A Lashkar-e-Tayyaba militant was killed in a gun battle with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's frontier district of Kupwara on Thursday
Meanwhile, a former militant wanted in a rape case hurled a hand grenade at a police party to evade arrest in the district's Kawari village on Thursday, injuring a police man.
Army and police here said that based on specific intelligence about presence of a militant in Peer Mohalla of Salkoot Village in Kupwara, an operation was launched on Thursday morning. Soon a gun battle started in which the militant was killed.
An Army spokesman quoted Srinagar-based Chinar (15) Army Corps commander, Lt. Gen. Subrata Saha, as saying the input was received from an intelligence agency and that the slain militant was a foreigner associated with the LeT. "Based on a study of the recoveries from the slain terrorist, it is assessed that he was preparing to receive a group," he said.
The militant, Army said, was hiding in a private house and after the troops established an "effective cordon", they first evacuated the occupants of the house to safety to ensure no innocent gets caught in the crossfire.
"When the terrorist holed up in the house realized the occupants had been evacuated, he opened fire at the soldiers leading to a fierce firefight during which he was killed and an Army jawan received a gunshot wound," it said adding the injured soldier was evacuated and is out of danger.
Local police termed the slain man as "unidentified militant" and said it was a joint operation in which besides Army's 4 Para and 44 Rashtriya Rifles, CRPFs' 98 Battalion and local police's counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SoG) also took park. The recoveries include one AK rifle with three magazines, one radio set and some documents.
Meanwhile, after a local court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against a rape accused Bashir Ahmad Dar, a resident of Bumhama of Kupwara and an alleged former militant, a police party went to arrest him on Thursday but he tossed a hand grenade injuring a constable.
A statement issued here said, "Police party traced the accused hiding in a house at Kawari. When it entered the premises, the accused lobbed a grenade on it, resulting in injury to a constable. However, the police party showed bravery and were able to overpower the accused and arrest him. The injured constable was shifted to hospital for treatment."
Police on Thursday also said that it found two male bodies including that of a 10-year-old boy in Kupwara and Anantnag districts.
