Sopore encounter: IG lauds security forces

Jammu and Kashmir Inspector General (IG) SP Pani on Wednesday appreciated the efforts of security forces for their joint operation in Sopore killing two terrorists including a Pakistani national belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group.

Pani confirmed that one of the two slain terrorists identified as Abu Maaz, was a LeT commander and was actively involved in a range of terror attacks in the state for a long time.

The encounter between the security forces and the terrorists started around 5 am on Tuesday and continued for more than 12 hours.

Speaking to ANI, Pani said, "The encounter had started day before yesterday. It was a prolonged encounter in which two terrorists were killed. One of them has been identified as Abu Maaz, was a Pakistani terrorist, he was active here for quite some time and was involved in a series of civilian atrocities, attack on forces and other terror activities."

The IG further said, "It was a good operation, there was no collateral damage. The operation has been concluded and it was a great achievement as the terrorist was active for quite some time."

When asked about the increasing frequency of anti-terror operations in North Kashmir, Pani said, "You have to see that the encounters that happened in North Kashmir, last week, involved terrorists who have been active for a long time. Like Abu Maaz, a Jaish-e-Mohammad commando was also eliminated; he was also active for quite long. These encounters are targeting terrorists who have been active for long."

The joint operation was carried out by the Army, police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Tuesday in Nawpora Tujar village in Sopore tehsil.