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Top LeT commander gunned down in Kulgam

Police said that after receiving a tip-off about his movement, a joint team of Kulgam police and 62 Rashtriya Rifles laid an ambush and trapped the dreaded militant. In a bid to escape, Ishfaq fired indiscriminately. The forces retaliated and he was killed.

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Security forces gunned down a top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander, Ishfaq Ahmad Paddar, in the Tantray Pora village of South Kashmir's Kulgam district on Saturday. The terrorist was reportedly involved in the assassination of a young Kashmiri Army officer, Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, who was killed on May 10.

Police said that after receiving a tip-off about his movement, a joint team of Kulgam police and 62 Rashtriya Rifles laid an ambush and trapped the dreaded militant. In a bid to escape, Ishfaq fired indiscriminately. The forces retaliated and he was killed.

Ishfaq, along with Mohammad Abass and Gayas-ul-Islam, had abducted Lieutenant Ummer Fayaz, 22, of the Rajputana Riffles from his maternal uncle's home in Batpora village of Shopian district, where he had gone to attend a cousin's wedding. Fayaz was taken to a neighbouring village, where he was shot dead.

Fayaz hailed from the Sadsun village of Kulgam district and his assassination had shocked the entire nation, since the officer was unarmed and commissioned in the Army just a few months ago.

Investigation had revealed that Fayaz had two gunshot wounds on his body. The empty cartridges found near the spot proved that the terrorists used the snatched INSAS rifle to shoot at him.

"At the time, Ishfaq was with Hizbul Mujhadeen (HM). Later, he joined the LeT. He is the first of the three terrorists involved in Lieutenant Fayaz's killing, who has been neutralised," Superintendent of Police, Kulgam, Shridhar Patil said.

Two other terrorists involved in the assassination are still on the run. "Ishfaq was notorious in the area. He had been targeting the civilian population to unleash terror. Killing him is a great success for the security forces and also a relief for the local populace," Patil said.

Police said besides this incident, Ishfaq was also involved in robberies at the Kader branches of Jammu and Kashmir Bank and Ellaquai Dehati Bank. He was also involved in a firing incident at Yaripora police station. An AK 47 rifle, two AK 47 magazines, 42 AK 47 rounds, and a pouch were recovered from his possession.

Meanwhile, stone pelting rocked Eidgah in Srinagar after the Eid prayers, prompting the forces to use smoke shells to disperse the mob.

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