Two terrorists, including a top commander of The Resistance Front (TRF) – an offshoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) – and his accomplice were killed in an encounter in Srinagar, officials said on Monday, 23 August, news agency ANI reported.
"Top commander of proscribed terror outfit LeT/TRF Abbas Sheikh and his 2IC Saqib Manzoor killed. A big success," a tweet by J&K police quoting IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar said.
The Operation
IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar told news agency ANI that Sheikh and Manzoor had revived terrorism in Srinagar, adding that five to six other terrorists had joined them.
According to the police, the two terrorists were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Srinagar's Aloochi Bagh area.
Upon receiving a specific information about the presence of the terrorists in the area, an operation was planned with a team arranged immediately to be rushed to the spot. The entire operation was carried out by 10 undercover policemen, NDTV reported.
The policemen, who were clad in civil dress, had initially cordoned off the area and began a search operation there.
"During the raid, the hiding terrorists were given the opportunity to surrender. However, they started firing on the police team. Our team also retaliated. In a brief shootout, two terrorists of proscribed terror outfit LeT (TRF) were neutralised."
According to the police, the two were responsible for several killings in the city and had been unleashing terror here, in addition to motivating youngsters to join their ranks.
Police reportedly told NDTV that 46-year-old Sheikh was one of the longest surviving terrorists. He was earlier with the Hizbul Mujahideen and later joined TRF a couple of years ago before briefly working with the LeT.
Manzoor, a postgraduate student, is said to have joined the TRF last year.
(With inputs from NDTV and ANI)
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