A lashkar-e-Tayyeba militant was killed in a gunfight with security forces at ladou village near Pampore town of south Kashmir’s Pulwama District on Sunday afternoon. Police said two militants managed to escape from the encounter site after the exchange of fire that lasted more than two hours. Sources said that security forces cordoned off an area behind a milk processing plant at ladou village, around 17 kilometers from here, following a tip-off that militants were in the area.
The dead militant was identified as Huzaifa alias Abu Qasim, a cadre of lashkar outfit. He is suspected to be a Pakistani. A police officer who was at the encounter site, said that security forces had seen three militants in the area. “Two militants are believed to have escaped from the encounter site,” he said. An AK series rifle with 19 rounds was recovered from the encounter site. Six militants and two soldiers, died in separate encounters in north Kashmir’s Kupwara District last week.