HuM top commander among 4 militants killed,LeT ultra arrested in J

Srinagar, Mar 19 (UNI) A self styled District Commander (DC) of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM) was among four militants killed while a Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) ultra was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir overnight.

A defence ministry spokesperson said troops and state police launched a joint operation at Putshahi, Lolab, in the frontier district of Kupwara last evening. During the operation, militants opened fire and took shelter in a house.

Operation was suspended last night due to darkness, he said adding it was resumed with the first light today.

Further details are awaited, he added.

However, a report from Barmulla said the house in which militants took shelter was blasted today by the security forces.

Both the militants hiding inside were killed, he said, adding troops of 62 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) launched a search operation at Check-Solian, Shopian, in the south Kashmir district of Pulwama early this morning following a tip-off that some militants were hiding there.

However, when the troops were sealing the area, militants opened fire. The fire was retaliated and in the firing two militants were killed. Two AK rifles, five magazines and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants.

One of those killed was identified as DC of HuM, he said, adding another was yet to be identified.

A house was also damaged in the encounter.

Besides, Jammu and Kashmir police today foiled a plan of Pakistan based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) to strike in the city when they arrested a militant, A police spokesperson said acting on a tip--off, police conducted searches at different places in the city since early this morning.

An LeT militant Assadullah was arrested by the police, he said.

The arrested militant later confessed during interrogation that he was planning with other LeT militants to strike in the city.

UNI