Srinagar: In a major breakthrough, the chief co-ordinator operations of Lashkar-e-Toiba and brain behind the attack on Akshardham temple in Gujarat, Nadimarg massacre and many 'fidayeen' attacks on security forces was killed during an encounter in Budgam district in the wee hours of August 8.

Manzoor Zahid Choudhry, a resident of Lahore who was also publicity in charge of LeT, was killed in an encounter with the Border Security Force (BSF), DIG, BSF K Srinivasan told reporters.

He said BSF had gathered a lot of information from the laptop computer and digital diary seized from the militant.

Srinivasan said Choudhry, who was functioning under several aliases, was the mastermind behind the attack on the Akshardham temple in which several devotees were killed.

In an E-mail to one Saiful Muzammil in Pakistan, probably not sent, the Lashkar commander had informed him about the successful operation on the temple in Gandhinagar, he said.

He said the LeT militant had deputed two ultras Hafiz and Hawal to carry out the attack in Gujarat.

Srinivasan said it would take some more time to sift through all the information in the computer and the digital diary, but investigations so far have revealed that Choudhry was the brain behind many suicide attacks and the Nadimarg massacre in which 24 minority community members were killed.

PTI