Two militants, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) ‘commander’Abrar, who was arrested on Monday, were killed and three CRPF jawans injured in an overnight encounter at Srinagar’s Maloora on Tuesday.
“Both the terrorists were killed in the encounter. In the initial firefight, three CRPF personnel got injured and Abrar, who was with the search party, also got hit,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said.
The condition of the injured personnel was stable, officials said.
“A foreign terrorist, who fired from inside the house got neutralised, and Abrar also got killed. Two AK 47 rifles were recovered from the site,” Mr. Kumar said.
Arrested at checkpoint
Abrar, the police said, was involved in the killing of security forces and civilians along with other terrorists. He was arrested on Monday at a checkpoint of the police and the CRPF at Parimpora area on the outskirts of Srinagar.
“At the Parimpora ‘naka’ [checkpoint], a vehicle was stopped and their identity was asked. Abrar, sitting at the back seat, tried to open his bag and take out a grenade. The ‘naka’ party swiftly swung into action and grabbed him. Abrar and the driver were taken to a police station,” the police said.
On sustained interrogation, the police said, Abrar disclosed that he had kept his AK-47 rifle in a house located at Maloora.
“When he was taken to that house, the police party was fired upon by one of his associates, a foreign terrorist, about whom he didn’t disclose anything. This triggered an encounter,” the police said.
Policeman, family killers identified
Mr. Kumar said two attackers who killed a special police officer (SPO), his wife and daughter on June 27 in Pulwama have been identified.
“Two Jaish-e-Muhammad militants carried out the attack. One is a foreign militant. Both will be tracked down soon as searches have been launched in the Awantipora belt. These killings are aimed at creating a fear psychosis to disrupt the ongoing tourist season,” the IGP noted.
On the threat of drone attacks, he said, “We have reviewed the drone threat. It’s a new security challenge and a technical threat. We will deal with it technically. Deployment has been made at vital installations and details of that can’t be shared.” All security installations were on a high alert in the Valley, he added.
