J&K anti-terror specialist killed

One of the counter-insurgency specialists with the Jammu & Kashmir police was killed on Wednesday in a brief gun battle as he tried intercepting a vehicle ferrying militants.

Police said Sub Inspector (SI) Altaf intercepted a load carrier-type vehicle, as police tried acting on information about militant movement in Hajin area of Bandipora. Altaf came under heavy fire from two militants travelling in the vehicle.

Inspector General Police (IGP) Kashmir SJM Gillani said forces exercised maximum restraint as some civilians were also seated in the vehicle.

“The officer (Altaf) received many bullets and was referred to the hospital where he later succumbed,” Gilani said adding one of the militants could also be hit by a bullet.

“The militants seem to be hiding in the nearby forest area. An operation has been launched to nab them,” the IGP said.  He termed Altaf as a brave personnel who had played a commendable role in anti-militancy operations. “His death is a big loss for us,” he said.
Sources told Deccan Herald that Altaf alias laptop, an expert officer in counter-insurgency, was heading a Special Investigating Team tasked to track down the most wanted commanders of Hizbul Mujahideen and Laskhar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfits.

“He almost succeeded in tracking most wanted LeT commander Abu Qasim LeT and was personally leading the operation in which he got killed. For the past one decade he had launched relentless operations against militants in which a number of top commanders were neutralised,” they said.