Top LeT terrorist, aide gunned down

In a fierce battle with the militants in south Kashmir on Saturday, the Indian security forces gunned down top Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Bashir Lashkari and his associate, who were behind the recent killing of six policemen.

According to official sources at Srinagar, the encounter left dead two civilians, including a woman. Acting on a tip-off about the presence of militants in the area, the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in Brenti-Batpora in Anantnag from Saturday morning.

Director General of Police S P Vaid said that the slain militants Bashir Lashkari and Azad Dada, both were affiliated with the LeT. "The encounter is over. The search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire on security forces," he said.

For some time, the militants used 17 civilians as a human shield inside a house but the security forces managed to rescue them before launching the final assault against the ultras.

According to cops, Lashkari and his group were involved in the brutal killing of SHO Feroz Ahmad Dar and five other policemen in Achabal area of south Kashmir on June 16. Bashir Lashkari, whose original name was Bashir Ahmed Wani, hailed from Kokernag and had joined militancy nearly two years ago. He was A++ category militant.