Suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba Militant Killed In Kashmir Police Encounter

A militant belonging to the banned Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), was killed in an early morning raid on Thursday in his hideout in Fatehkadal area, police in India-administered Kashmir said.

The self-styled LeT commander Hilal Molvi was wanted in connection with the killing of several civilians in the Pattan and Sopore areas of north Kashmir, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Police cordoned off the area around Narparistan in Fatehkadal area of the city after receiving a tip about Molvi’s presence.

The gunfight lasted for about an hour, though the militant was believed to have died within 15 minutes of firing, the Hindu reported citing sources.

Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police, Syed Ashiq Hussain Bukhari, confirmed to the Hindu that the militant was identified as Hilal Molvi of Palhalan, Pattan.

Molvi was involved in an assault on an Indian security forces camp in Srinagar on March 13 that killed five Indian paramilitary soldiers, Bukhari told the Hindu. Two LeT militants were also killed in a gunfight following the attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp, and another militant was arrested. All the three had stayed with Molvi at his house several times in the past, the officer said.

LeT is a well-established Pakistani militant group, which orchestrated November 2008 terror attack against several targets in Mumbai.