Four security personnel and a self-styled divisional commander of Lashker-e-Toiba outfit were killed and three others injured in a fierce gunbattle near Srinagar on Sunday.The gunbattle broke out when militants ambushed a joint search party of Special Operations group (SOG) of local police and CRPF at Telbal on Harwan-Hazratbal road on the outskirts of the city on Sunday morning, official sources said. They said three police personnel and a CRPF jawan were killed and two others including a sub-inspector were injured in the militant firing.
A militant, who was later identified as Faisal, a self-styled Divisional commander of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba (LET) outfit, was killed and his associate was injured. However, the injured militant managed to escape from the scene of the gunbattle and a hunt was on to nab him, the sources said.
The sources said that security forces launched a search operation in the locality situated on the banks of Dal Lake on Sunday morning following specific information about presence of militants. The militants ambushed the search party after finding themselves trapped, triggering the gunbattle, which lasted several hours.
Terming the killing of the dreaded LET commander as a major breakthrough, the sources said he was a member of the central command of the outfit and had masterminded a large number of attacks in the valley.
The area was still under tight security cordon along with adjoining areas, which were sealed later to block the escape routes of the trapped militants, the sources said.
The encounter comes just four days after militants set off a massive improvised explosive device at high security exhibition crossing in the heart of the city on March 19, which left one person dead and 17 others injured. The blast ended over six-months long lull in violence in the city. The encounter was also the first major gunbattle between militants and security forces this year.
