Top Lashkar terrorist Haider killed during gunfight in Jammu and Kashmir's Handwara encounter

ANI photo

Handwara: A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Haider from Pakistan has been killed by security forces in Handwara encounter, IG Kashmir Vijay Kumar said on Sunday (May 3). "Two terrorists including a top Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Haider from Pakistan killed in Handwara encounter," he said.

On May 2, an Army Colonel and a Major were among five security personnel killed in an encounter with terrorists at a village in north Kashmir's Handwara area.

Giving details, the Army said based on the intelligence input that terrorists were taking hostage some civilians in a house in Changimulla at Handwara of Kupwara district, a joint operation was launched by the Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

A team comprising of five Army and police personnel entered the target area occupied by the terrorists to evacuate the civilians and successfully extricated them, it said.

However, during the process, the team came under a heavy volume of fire by the terrorists and in the ensuing firefight, two terrorists were eliminated and the five Army personnel and a policeman were killed in the line of duty, the Army said.

The terrorists are believed to have come to Handwara to receive an infiltrating group from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, officials said.

Besides Colonel Ashutosh Sharma and Major Anuj Sood, the other Army personnel killed in the encounter were identified as Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh. Col Sharma was the Commanding Officer of the 21 Rashtriya Rifles and had been decorated for gallantry twice in Kashmir.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, Colonel Sharma's body would be flown to Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh and that of Major Sood to Chandigarh, the officials said.