LeT militant killed by forces in brief encounter in Kashmir

Srinagar, Mar 25 :  A Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant was killed by security forces in a brief encounter in the central Kashmir district of Budgam in the wee hours on Sunday.
A police spokesperson told UNI that following specific information about presence of a militant Khan Mohalla, Arizal, Beerwah in Badgam, troops of 53 Rashitriya Rifles (RR), Special Operation Group (SOG) of Jammu and Kashmir police and CRPF launched a joint search operation in the wee hours in the area.
He said when the area was being cordoned off, the militant came out from a house and fired indiscriminately on security forces with automatic weapons.
Security forces also retaliated and in the exchange of fire the militant was killed. “Arms and ammunition, other incriminating materials, besides mobile phones, cash worth Rs 30,000 were recovered from the encounter site,” he said.
He said a girl was also injured who received a bullet in the exchange of fire. “She was promptly evacuated to hospital by the police for medical treatment and her condition is now reported to be stable. The area is under cordon and search is being done,” he said.
The spokesperson said that the slain militant has been identified as Shafat Hussain Wani, resident of Wagoora in Baramulla. “Wani was affiliated with militant outfit LeT since April 2017,” he added.
Meanwhile, mobile internet services have been suspended due to security reasons in Budgam and Baramulla, where security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive areas to maintain law and order.
This was the second encounter in the valley during the past 24 hours. Early yesterday, two Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) foreign militants were killed in Anantnag district of South Kashmir.UNI