3 terrorists linked to Lashkar shot dead in J&K; 2 involved in civilian killings

This comes a day after an LeT operative was held in Baramulla. The arrest helped in aversion of major attacks, officials said.

Three terrorists linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit were shot dead on Tuesday in an early-morning encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district. While one of them was involved in the killing of a Kashmiri Pandit, another was involved in the killing of a Nepal national, officials said, adding that one AK-47 rifle and two pistols were recovered from the site.

(Reprsentational/ AFP File Photo)

The encounter began in the Munjh Mang area of Shopian at around 6 am. "#ShopianEncounterUpdate: 03 #terrorists linked with proscribed #terror outfit LeT killed. Identification being ascertained. Further details shall follow. (sic)," the Kashmir Zone Police wrote in a post.

This comes a day after an LeT operative was held in Baramulla. The arrest helped in aversion of major attacks, officials said.

“Based on a specific input, an operation was carried out on Dec 18 by joint parties of police and 32 RR, leading to arrest of one terrorist associate,” a police spokesman was quoted as saying in an HT report. “The timely arrest with arms, ammunitions and explosive material has averted major terrorist attacks like targeted killings in Baramulla and adjoining areas, targeted attacks on convoy vehicles of forces saving lives of innocent civilians,” he said.

He also said that "terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir decreased by 168 per cent" since the Modi government came to power and "Left Wing Extremism incidents were down by over 265 per cent" since 2015.