LeT commander killed in encounter in Kashmir's Anantnag

A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander was killed in an encounter with security forces in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Saturday.

The slain militant was identified as Nisar Dar, a local affiliated with the LeT.

Earlier, a gun battle erupted after a joint team of police and army launched a cordon-and-search-operation in the Sirhama area of Anantnag, 50 kms from here, during the night following inputs about the presence of militants there.

The search operation turned into an encounter after militants fired upon the security forces, who retaliated, police said and added in the ensuing exchange of firing, one militant was killed.

As the Sirhama encounter was ongoing, another gunfight between militants and security forces erupted in the neighbouring Kulgam district.

“#AnantnagEncounterUpdate: 01 local #terrorist of proscribed #terror outfit LeT killed. Search in progress. Further details shall follow. However, in the #encounter at #Kulgam, no terrorist has been neutralised yet. #Operation going on," Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.

This year, 45 militants, including 11 foreigners, have been killed across Kashmir in encounters with security forces. Besides 26 militants and over 160 over ground workers (OGWs) have also been arrested while 18 youngsters have joined militancy this year.

Last year in 87 encounters, 168 militants were killed by the security forces in Kashmir. Among them, 19 were foreigners, while 149 were locals.

Last week the Army said that 156 militants, including 77 foreigners, were still active in Kashmir valley.

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