In a joint operation, the army and police threw a tight cordon around the Dhar forest area of Doda district, about 170 km from here, late Friday night following a tip off about the presence of terrorists.
"We managed to hole in the group and the gunbattle began this morning (Saturday)," Hemant Lohia, deputy inspector general of police (Doda range), told IANS.
"LeT district commander Abu Samama and his bodyguard Barkat Ali were killed in the operation. While Samama was a Pakistani national, Ali was a local militant," said Brig Gurdeep Singh, brigadier general staff of 16 Corps.
He added that Samama had been active in this area for the last four to five years and his killing was a big blow to the LeT.
One army soldier was injured in the gunbattle. Security forces recovered arms and ammunition from the site.
