2 LeT terrorists killed in encounter in J&K

Srinagar: Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists, including the one allegedly involved in the recent killing of a bank manager, were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Wednesday, police said.

Acting on specific information regarding the presence of terrorists in Shopian's Kanji Ullar village, a cordon-and-search operation was launched by the security forces in the area, according to a police spokesperson.

During the search operation, as the forces approached the suspected spot, the terrorists fired indiscriminately on them, which was retaliated effectively, the spokesperson said.

In the ensuing encounter, two terrorists were killed and their bodies were retrieved from the encounter site. They were identified as Jan Mohammad Lone, a resident of Braripora in Shopian, and Tufail Nazir Ganie, a resident of Ramnagri in Shopian, the spokesperson said.

He added that according to police records, the slain ultras were linked with proscribed outfit LeT and were part of groups involved in several terror crime cases, including attacks on police and other security forces and civilian atrocities.

Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir Vijay Kumar said Lone was involved in the killing of bank manager Vijay Kumar in Kulgam on June 2.

He also revealed that Lone was earlier working as an overground worker (OGW) for LeT district commander Adil Ramzan and had killed the bank manager on the latter's directions.

Incriminating materials, arms and ammunition, including an AK-47 rifle and a pistol, were recovered from the encounter site.