Top Lashkar-e-Taiba Resistance Front (LeT-TRF) commander Basit Dar was among the two terrorists killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district, officials said on Tuesday.
The security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Kulgam’s Redwani village late on Monday night following information about the presence of terrorists in the area, they said.
However, the search operation turned into an encounter, which was on till the last reports came in, the officials said. The house in which the terrorists were hiding caught fire on Tuesday morning during the exchange of fire between the two sides, they said.
A senior police officer said at least two bodies were seen at the encounter site and efforts are on to retrieve those. ”The identity and group affiliation of the slain ultras can be revealed only after the bodies are retrieved,” he added.
According to sources, top LeT-TRF commander Basit Dar, who was carrying a Rs 10 lakh bounty on his head, was believed to have been trapped in the house where the exchange of fire was going on.
However, security forces will confirm the identity of the terrorists killed once the operation is over.
Basit, is a resident of Redwani’s Kulgam who has been missing since 2021, and had joined Lashkar.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had announced a cash bounty of Rs 10 lakh on the commander. The reward money was announced in connection with a case registered against him. Dar was the mastermind behind the spat of civilian killings in October.
(With PTI inputs)
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