LeT commander killed in Pulwama, J-K top cop congratulates his men on Twitter

Jammu and Kashmir Police confirmed the death of the LeT’s Pulwama district commander, Ayoub Lelhari.

A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant was killed by security forces in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday.

Army personnel engaged in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Pulwama in March 2017. (PTI File Photo)

Ayoub Lelhari, the Pulwama district commander of the LeT, was killed in a swift encounter at Bandarpora in Pulwama. The Jammu and Kashmir director general of police, SP Vaid, confirmed the death on Twitter, and congratulated his men.

Police said Lelhari’s death was yet another success in fight against militancy.

The encounter comes three days after three Hizbul Muajhideen militants, including the outfit’s operational commander Yasin Itoo alias Mehmood Ghaznavi, were killed in a gunbattle on Sunday. Two soldiers were also killed that day.

Kashmir has been witnessing vigorous anti-insurgency operations by security forces in the past few months, particularly after increase in militant activities following the killing of the Hizb commander Burhan Wani in July last year.

Since July 30, security forces have killed 23 militants in various gun battles, including five infiltrators who were gunned down along the LoC, by the army in Machil sector on August 7.