Jammu: Three guerrillas, including a top commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant outfit, were killed in two separate gunbattles with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir Sunday, according to the police.

Abrar Ahmad alias Abu Ubaid, one of the most wanted Lashkar militants, was killed late Saturday in Targain, a heavily forested and hilly area in the Rajouri district, north of here.

Abrar, a former Hizbul Mujahideen commander who later joined the Lashkar to head its Rajouri district unit, was a byword for terror in the hilly areas, the police said. He had masterminded several killings and bombings in the area, they added.

One AK47 rifle, a magazine, a wireless set, a mobile set (damaged) and one diary were recovered from the possession of the slain terrorist.

In another operation, the police said a cordon was laid, on a tip-off, around a suspected hideout in Marha Kheer area of the Udhampur district, about 80 km from here.

A joint party of the army and the police zeroed in on the hideout and the guerrillas opened fire at the security men, a police official said. The shootout lasted for about two hours.

The slain militants, a local and a foreigner, belonged to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, the official said, adding the security forces suffered no loss.

The police were ascertaining more details about the identification of the killed militants.

 

Source : IANS