Technical evidence proved their presence at Chadoora, confirms their involvement in killing of Rahul Bhat; they had moved back to Bandipora; were received by local LeT militant Lateef Rather, Hunt on for him says Police

Bandipora, May 13 (ANH): Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants who had recently infiltrated into Kashmir valley were killed in an encounter with security forces at upper belt Brar-Aragam village of North Kashmir’s Bandipora district on Friday, officials said.

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“The presence of two recently infiltrated militants was ascertained in Brar-Aragam area during a joint cordon and search operation by security forces following which the trapped militants fired indiscriminately towards search party, ” a senior police officer told the news agency-Kashmir News Observer (KNO). The duo had managed to escape during an encounter in the Salinder forest area on last Wednesday, he said. “In the ensuing exchange of fire, two militants were killed and their bodies were recovered from the site of the encounter.”

The official said that the police have recovered incriminating materials including arms and ammunition also from the site. Another security officer said that the movement of three unidentified militants was tracked in the Bandipora area on May 10 following which an alert was issued.

However on May 11, a local Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, identified as Gulzar Ganai (20), was killed in a gunfight with security forces at Srinder woods and the other two were escape who were killed in today’s operation.

A police spokesman in a statement to KNO said that Police & Army (13RR) killed two recently infiltrated foreign militants of LeT in an anti-militancy operation at Brar Aragam area of Bandipora. “The duo had escaped from recent operation at Srinder Forest area of Bandipora,” the police spokesman said.

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He said that Police was tracking a local LeT militant namely Lateef Rather alias Osama who was involved in terror incidents in Srinagar and Budgam from last two months. “A week ago movement of Lateef Rather was confirmed in Salindar area of Bandipora where he had gone to receive a fresh infiltrated group of militants of LeT outfit. The presence/ movement of these militants was zeroed and shared with the Bandipora police and accordingly an operation was launched on 11/5/22 resulting in elimination of a local militant identified as Gulzar Ahmed Ganaie of district Baramulla. While as the other two terrorists managed to escape from the said encounter site. However, Police team kept following the footprints of escaped militants , whose presence was confirmed technically in Chadoora area of Budgam, where terror incident took place yesterday on 12/05/22. Thereafter their footprints were again confirmed in Brar, Aragam area of Bandipora today on 13/5/22. Accordingly the information was shared with the police Bandipora and operation was launched by them along with 13RR resulting into elimination of two foreign militants of LeT outfit identified as Faisal alias Sikander alias Mohsin resident of Pakistan & Ukasha resident of Pakistan. While the hunt for Lateef Rather alias Osama is on.

IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar congratulated joint team of Police/SF for tracking down the foreign militants who had recently escaped during an encounter and whose presence was technically confirmed yesterday at terror incident site at Chadoora which confirmed their involvement in killing of Shri Rahul Bhat and said that Lateef Rather alias Osama will be tracked down soon as the hunt for him is vigorously on.