Police today shot dead two top militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) including its operations chief in an encounter at Naina, Batapora in Pulwama district.Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, S. M. Sahai told press persons at a news conference that police acting on specific information about the presence of two 'dreaded Lashkar-e-Taiba militants' in Naina Batapora Sangam area of south Kashmir launched an operation there. He said a Police party from Anantnag in association with CRPF and troops of 55 RR conducted the operation jointly this morning.
Sahai said that when the area was being searched the security forces came under militant fire and grenade attack. The forces retaliated and in the ensuing encounter two militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed, he said. The slain militants have been identified as Abu Atif alias Sadak, resident of Gujranwala, Pakistan and Syed Moin another Pakistani national. Large quantity of arms and ammunition including two AK rifles and magazine were recovered from the slain militants.
According to police the slain militant Atif was active in the area for the last ten years and presently was operational chief of Let outfit not only for valley but for planning attacks in different parts of the country. He was instrumental in attack on CRPF personnel at Rampur, and at Science Congress in Bangalore by supplying arms to the militants who attacked it. Besides killing of Station House Officer Police Station Pampore, Inspector Manzoor Ahmad in the year 2006 and killing of a computer operator Qazi at Pampore. He was also responsible for killing of at least fifty civilians and security force personnel in South Kashmir Range, Sahai claimed. IGP further said that Atif was also responsible for grenade attack on tourists in Shalimar and Charsoo Sangam. Another militant killed was his body guard.
Meanwhile according to NAK, Lashkar's chief spokesman Dr Abdullah Gaznavi in a telephonic statement, said that chief of his organization Qari Abdul Wahid Kashmiri has paid tributes to the slain commanders who were killed during a day long gun battle with the Indian forces. He said that the slain commanders were among the experts of the organization and LeT will never forget their services they rendered for the cause. He said the commanders would be remembered in the history of Kashmir struggle and claimed that the sacrifices given by the militants for the 'just Kashmir cause' will not go waste. (NAK)