Sopore encounter: 3 Lashkar-E-Taiba terrorist including top commander eliminated by security forces

Srinagar: Three terrorists were killed in an encounter in North Kashmir's Sopore area. The operation started Sunday (June 20) evening and lasted the whole night. In the Morning security forces retrieved three terrorist bodies from the encounter site.

The operation has been a huge success for the forces as they managed to kill one of the most wanted terrorists in Kashmir Valley. Mudasir Pandit, Commander of Lashkar-E-Toiba was killed in the gunfight along with two other terrorists. 

''This operation was launched last night in Sopore. It was a joint operation and Our field commanders supervised it personally. 3 deadly terrorists were killed. They were all commander ranks and were instrumental in many attacks. Since June 2019, Mudasir Pandit was an active LeT commander. He has killed 4 civilians, 9 Security forces personnel,2 ex-militants, 3 sarpanches, and 2 Hurriyat and separatists.'' said DG Kashmir, Dilbagh Singh.

The other two terrorists killed in the encounter were Khurshid Ahmad Mir and a Foreign terrorist. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the encounter site. ''Khurshid Ahmad Mir was another commander, He was from Sopore only and was active since May 2020 with LeT. He has killed 7 security forces and 5 civilians. He was involved in many attacks and killings along with Mudasir Pandit.'' said DG Kashmir, Dilbagh Singh.

Police say that after putting up wanted posters of these terrorists in different districts of Kashmir Valley, They have been getting calls and messages from locals about the presence of terrorists in these areas. 

''Two major attacks have happened in 3 months. We installed posters in Sopore of these terrorists and put up rewards too. We kept getting information from locals and their support. I want to thank locals for supporting us in killing these militants.'' said IG Kashmir, Vijay Kumar. 

However, The Indian army said that they are trying to break the cycle of violence in the Kashmir Valley. ''These are the people who spill the blood of Kashmiris. They want to keep the cycle of violence going on. We want to break the cycle of violence. We have to stop supporting these elements. We are pained when old parents of these youth appeals to them to return back.'' said H S Saha, Lt Gen, Kilo Force.