Militants among hundreds attend LeT commander's funeral in J&K

Hundreds of mourners joined in the funeral of militant commander Bashir Lashkari, who was killed a day earlier, as he was buried on Sunday at his ancestral graveyard in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Shouting pro-Islam and pro-Azadi slogans, a large number of people carried the body of Bashir Lashkari to the Sofshali village graveyard.

The dead man belonged to the Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Pakistan-backed militant outfit which is fighting to end Indian rule in Jammu and Kashmir.

Several militants also joined the funeral procession and fired in the air from their weapons as a mark of respect to the slain commander. The security forces did not disrupt the funeral nor did they stop mourners from reaching the village where Lashkari was buried.

The LeT commander, who carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was killed in a gunfight with security forces on Saturday along with his Pakistani associate Abu Maaz in Brenthi village in Anantnag district.

The killing of the commander was a major success for the security forces in their anti-militancy campaign as Lashkari had masterminded and carried out the gruesome killing of six policemen, including an officer, in Achabal area last month.

Two civilians were also killed on Saturday in Brenthi village. While the police said the civilians were killed in a cross-fire between the security forces and the militants, locals said they died due to firing by security forces.

A mob had engaged the security forces in Brenthi village when the operation against the holed up militants was on.

Meanwhile, restrictions remained in force in parts of Srinagar for the third consecutive day today in view of a strike called by separatists to protest the killing of two civilians during an anti-militancy operation.

The restrictions have been imposed in seven police stations of Srinagar the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

They said while the curbs continued for the third consecutive day in five police station areas of the city - Nowhatta, M R Gunj, Rainawari, Khanyar and Safakadal, authorities today imposed restrictions in two other police station areas - Maisuma and Kralkhud.

The officials said the curbs were imposed under Section 144 CrPc as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident. Condemning the killings, the separatists called for a shutdown.