Two Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Arigam, Devsar area of South Kashmir’s Kulgam district, police and army said Saturday. Four security forces personnel including a police man were injured in the gunfight as well.
Addressing a joint press conference along with the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) South Kashmir range, Javaid Iqbal Matoo, Commander 2 Sector RR, Brigadier Anirudh Chauhan said that acting on a specific lead early this morning, joint security forces laid a siege around the suspected spot at Arigam area of Kulgam.
“We have been tracking this group for the past one month. Today morning, army’s 9 RR, 163 CRPF battalion, and Police zeroed in on the house where terrorists were hiding. At 6:30 am, the terrorists tried to break the cordon but they were pushed back to enter the house,” the army officer said as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
“To ensure the safety of the civilians, this operation took 12 hours. Two terrorists were killed in the encounter after a fierce exchange of fire. One of the slain terrorists has been identified as Umais Ahmed Wani of Kulgam, who was the commander of Lashkar-e-Toiba. His killing is obviously a big jolt for the Lashkar outfit.”
He said the operation reflected synergy among the security agencies and efforts to keep the peaceful atmosphere intact.Speaking on the occasion, DIG South Kashmir Javaid Iqbal Matoo said that the Lashkar commander Umais was active since 2020 and there were many FIRs registered against him. “Second terrorist was identified as Aqib Ahmed Gojri who has been active since 2022,” he said.
Asked about the arms and ammunition recovered from the site of the encounter, he said war-like stores have been recovered by the forces. “To confirm the final identity, we have taken the DNA samples of the slain terrorists as well,” he said.
Earlier, talking to reporters, Inspector General of Police Kashmir V K Birdhi said that four security forces personnel were injured in the initial exchange of fire and all of them were stable. The injured he said included a policeman—(KNO)