Jammu: Three Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militants, including a self-styled battalion commander on October 18 surrendered to the security forces in the border district of Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir according to official sources.

They were identified as Nazir Ahmed, a so-called battalion commander, Basharat Hussain and Liaquat Ali, all residents of Marhot in Surankote, where they laid down arms before the Rashtriya Rifles troops, the sources said.

They surrendered over three AK-rifles, 12 magazines, one wireless set, three hand grenades, three pouches and 360 AK rounds at the time of surrender, they said.

The surrender of October 18 is a shot in the arm for the troops as during the past one and half month more than a dozen militants have laid down their arms and ammunition in Surankote, they said.

While Nazir Ahmed became a militant in 2000, Basharat joined the ranks in 2001 and Ali became an active LeT militant in January 2002. The trio were trained in Pakistan and were involved in a series of militant activities in Surankote tehsil.

PTI