LeT commander killed in J&K gunfight

A district commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit was among the two militants killed on Saturday in a gunfight with the security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

Wasim Shah alias Usman, the district commander of LeT, was killed along with Naseer Mir, a police officer said.

Shah was a resident of Shopian district, while Mir belonged to Litter village, where the gun battle took place.

One AK-47 and one AK-56 rifle and six magazines were recovered from the encounter site. The operation in the area is now over, the police officer said.

The gun battle had started after the security forces received specific intelligence inputs on the presence of the militants in the village.

As the security personnel closed in on their hide-out, the militants opened fire triggering the gunfight.

Immediately after the news about the killings of the LeT militants spread in the area, announcements were made through mosque public address systems asking people to come out and stage protests.

Protesters gathered in large numbers in the area shouting Pro-Islam slogans.

--IANS

sq/in