STATE TIMES NEWS
Srinagar/Rajouri: Two foreign terrorists of Lashkar- e-Toiba (LeT) were killed in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir while a terrorist was killed along the Line of Control in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district as Army foiled an infiltration bid on Tuesday.
Security forces launched an anti-terror operation in the wee hours in Hadoora area of Ganderbal district, 25 km from here, following information about presence of terrorists in the area, an army official said.
He said as the security forces were closing in on the position of the terrorists, the latter opened fire on the troops who retaliated.
“In the ensuing gun battle, two terrorists were killed,” he said.
The official said the slain terrorists have been identified as Abu Anas and Abu Ali, both foreigners, who were associated with the Lashkar outfit.
The official said two AK assault rifles, ammunition and hand grenade were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorists.
“It (killing of terrorists) is a good success for the security forces especially as it comes ahead of the January 26 (Republic Day),” he said. In Rajouri, a terrorist was killed as Army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district this morning. The troops deployed along the LoC detected the movement of terrorists along the LoC, a Defence Spokesman said.
Troops engaged the infiltrating terrorists with effective automatic fire while drawing heavy retaliatory fire, he said adding a militant was eliminated in the operation while the other members of the group fled towards Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. The body of the terrorist has been recovered along with a weapon and ammunition, he said. “This action by the Army assumes significance in view of the large number of intelligence reports of likely terrorist attacks around 26 January,” the spokesman said. “Pakistan continues in its nefarious designs of supporting and abetting infiltration across the LoC,” he said adding the Army is keeping a strict vigil across the LoC and is prepared to thwart any designs of Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. The official said the security forces followed the standard operating procedure while dealing with the militants to ensure that the civilians and their property did not suffer any damage during the operation. This is second major encounter in Kashmir this year. Meanwhile , police registered a case in connection with “misleading pictures” showing the two terrorists killed in Ganderbal encounter being dragged by a vehicle. “Police has taken cognisance of some people having uploaded pictures on social networking sites with the concocted information that the bodies of the terrorists had been dragged after the encounter in Ganderbal,” a police spokesman said. The pictures, depicting the slain men with their legs tied by ropes to a jeep and being dragged by the vehicle, were posted on social networking sites soon after the encounter ended in Ganderbal district. “Such posts are misleading and no such act has been committed with the bodies of the killed terrorists. The photographs being circulated are not from any part of Kashmir.
“A case has been registered against the people spreading this false information on social networking sites, particularly on Facebook,” the police spokesman added. According to another report, a 35-year-old Pakistan national was arrested by BSF while he was crossing into the Indian territory along the International Border in Jammu district.
Militants attack security picket; cop injured
Srinagar: Militants on Tuesday night attacked a mobile security picket in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, injuring a policeman.
Militants fired upon a joint ‘naka’ (checking) party of police and CRPF in Hall area of Rajpura in Pulwama, a police official said.
He said a police constable, Firdous Ahmad, was injured in the attack. The injured cop has been shifted to a hospital and a hunt has been launched to nab the attackers, the official said.