Militants killed in Kashmir encounter were trained with Lashkar's top commander Bahadur Ali
Officials declared the operation as successful and identified the officer as Major S Dahiya. The militants were identified as Abu Saad, Abu Mavia and one of the top commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Abu Darda.
Three militants and a major were killed in an encounter in Kralgund are of north Kashmir's Kupwara district.
Officials declared the operation as successful and identified the officer as Major S Dahiya. The militants were identified as Abu Saad, Abu Mavia and one of the top commanders of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Abu Darda.
Darda and Saad had infiltrated into Kashmir with Bahadur Ali, who was arrested, in June last year. Saad and Darda are also said to be behind recent attacks on convoy and army camps, including the encounter in Langate on October 6, last year.
Police said that the terrorist tried to flee but were surrounded by heavy deployment of force-- 30 Rashtriya Rifles, 92 Battalion of CRPF and Jammu Kashmir police.
"The encounter is a major success. This is a huge setback for Lashkar. We have improved our intelligence network, so we are getting information based on which operations are being conducted," DIG North Kashmir Nitish Kumar said.Also read: Encounter in J-K's Bandipora: 3 Army soldiers die, 1 militant killed
WHO IS ABU DARDA
Abu Darda had been on Jammu Kashmir police's wanted list as he helped many groups infiltrate into the country. According to sources, Darda was active during 2008-2010.
He was trained with Bahadur Ali and Saad in the Lashkar camp. They were then handpicked as a team who then illegally infiltrated into Indian territory on June 12-13, 2016.
Ali along with two other associates Abu Saad and Abu Darda, before infiltrating, were provided with the grid references (GRs) which guided them across Line of Control. The matrix sheet for grid references have been recovered from the terrorist.
Bahadur Ali after their successful infiltration was separated from Abu Darda and Abu Saad.
Ali told the National Investigation Agency that the duo had gone to neighbouring village to arrange food, did not return, and said to have gone missing. After which Bahadur Ali contacted Lashkar control station Alpha-3, and was instructed to act alone.
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