LeT commander, police constable among 5 killed in J and K

Srinagar, Aug 10 (UNI) A top commander of Pakistan based Lashker-e- Toiba (LeT) and a state police constable were among five people killed in Jammu and Kashmir overnight.

A police spokesman said troops of state police launched a search operation at village Wanigam, Pattan, in north Kashmir district of Baramulla early this morning. However, when the police personnel were sealing the area, militants opened fire which was effectively returned by the troops.

He said a LeT self-styled district commander Abu Harris, a resident of Pakistan, was killed in the encounter.

Harris was involved in a number of militant attacks on security forces, including on DIG, CRPF, at Palhalan on June 24 this year.

Militants shot at and critically wounded a police constable at Pakherpora, in Badgam district yesterday. He was admitted to hospital here where he died this morning.

One Abdul Rahim Tantray was killed and two others, including a woman, were injured when militants opened fire at main chowk Pattan, in Baramulla district today. The injured were admitted to hospital.

Sources said security forces killed one Nazir Ahmad Parray, due to mistaken identity in the central Kashmir district of Badgam early this morning.

Security forces opened fire after they mistook Parray as a militant at Badroo, Magam. He died before he could be shifted to hospital, sources said.

An official spokssman said a militant was killed by security forces at Shopian in south Kashmir last night.

He said security forces arrested two mlitants of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) at Doda while one hideout was unearthed at Banihal last night.

Security forces arrested an injured militant from a hotel room at high security Karan Nagar area of the city, official sources said.

They said security forces on a tip-off, raided a hotel alloted to police and other security force officials at Karan Nagar early this morning.

The militant Javid Ahmad Parray, was arrested from a room alloted to a police official.

Parray had recently received bullet injury during an encounter at Shopian in south Kashmir.

UNI BAS MSJ ND1940