LeT militant Asif Maqbool Bhat encountered in Sopore

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant, believed to be involved in the attack on the family of a fruit merchant last week, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Sopore area of north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Wednesday.

Police said Asif Maqbool Bhat affiliated with the LeT was killed following a brief shootout in Sopore, 52 kms from here.

“Based on specific inputs, we set up checkpoints to track and block Asif. We intercepted him and he attacked us. He threw a grenade. A few police personnel were injured but they are out of danger,” J&K police chief Dilbag Singh told reporters in Srinagar.

According to the police, Bhat was responsible for a recent shootout in which three members of a fruit trader’s family and a 30-month-old girl were injured. Police said he was also responsible for the shooting of a migrant labourer named Shafi Aaalm in Sopore.

The police chief said that militants were distributing posters in south Kashmir asking people to observe shutdown."There have also been incidents reported where terrorists manhandled people,” he said.

The latest encounter came two days after police claimed to have arrested eight militants affiliated with the LeT in Sopore.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Sopore, Javaid Iqbal said the militants had hatched a conspiracy to print posters threatening locals against venturing out of their homes, either for trade, travel, schools or offices.