Lashkar militant killed in encounter with security forces in Bandipora

An encounter broke out in Hajin area of Bandipora on Thursday morning after security personnel carried out a cordon and search operation.

abhishek.saha@htlive.com

Paramilitary troopers stand guard after a gunfight with militants at Hajin village in Kashmir's Bandipora district, in October 2017. (AFP File Photo)

A militant was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in the wee hours of Thursday at Hajin in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district, officials said.

“One terrorist of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), apparently FT (foreign terrorist) was killed in an encounter in Hajin Bandipore on Thursday morning in a joint operation of state police, army and the CRPF,” director general of state police SP Vaid tweeted.

The encounter ensued when security forces launched a cordon and search operation at Hajin’s Shakoor Din Mohalla on Thursday morning after receiving information about presence of militants there, Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a statement.

Arms and ammunition, including AK 47 rifles, and other incriminating materials were recovered from the encounter site.

“Prima facie it appears that the dead militant belongs to the outlawed LeT and is a Pakistani national,” the statement said.

The encounter took place barely two days after the body of a Pakistani militant was recovered from Hajin.

The militant is said to have escaped after suffering bullet injuries in a gunfight with the security forces in the area a day earlier.

Agitated locals did not hand over the body to the police and buried it in a local graveyard. Police said in a statement that action would be initiated against those “who led the protest and instigated the public.”

Local media reports said that Hajin observed a shutdown both on Tuesday and Wednesday over the militant’s death.