SRINAGAR: In the first encounter of 2024 in Kashmir, a local militant of Lashkar-e-Toiba, who was involved in killing of an army officer, was killed in a gunfight in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.
A police official said that a joint contingent of police, Army and CRPF laid siege around Chotigam village of Shopian after receiving inputs about the presence of militants. He said that after plugging off escape routes, the security zeroed-in on a target area where the militant was hiding.
“There was exchange of fire and a local Lashkar militant was killed,” the official said. The slain militant was identified as Bilal Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Chek Cholan in Shopian. An AK rifle and 3 magazines were recovered from the site of the encounter.
The police added that the militant was involved in many militant attacks including the killing of local army officer Umar Fayaz in 2017. The police said the LeT militant was also involved in a grenade attack on non-local labourers in Hermain Shopian in which two labourers were killed.