Srinagar, April 14
Two Pakistani militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were killed in a 20-hour-long gunfight with the security forces on the outskirts of Srinagar city today. Two policemen were also injured in the encounter.

Police sources said one of the slain militants, Abu Huzaifa Sindhi, was formerly a constable with the Sind police in Pakistan. The second militant was identified as Chota Hafiz. Both of them were active in Kashmir from over two years.

The encounter broke out on Sunday evening, after the Special Operations Group of the J&K Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) cordoned off the Ahmed Nagar locality, around 10 km from the city centre. There was a specific input that some militants were present in the area.

“We had specific information and we followed it with an operation. The militants made a forced entry into a house and held hostage its owner and his wife. Our first priority was to rescue the couple. Having rescued the two by the morning, we launched an operation to eliminate the militants and were successful. The militants were of Pak origin and belonged to the LeT. Two cops also sustained injuries, but they are out of danger,” Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Abdul Ghani Mir said at the encounter site. “There was minor damage to the house due to a cylinder blast,” he added. The two LeT militants were active in Ganderbal, Kangan, Harwan and Tral belts of Kashmir.

A head constable of the J&K Police was injured in the initial gunfight while the cordon was being laid.