J&K: Top Lashkar commander & mastermind of Udhampur BSF convoy attack Abu Qasim killed in encounter

Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba terror group on Thursday suffered a setback when its top commander Abu Qasim, wanted in many terror strikes including this year's Udhampur attack on the BSF, was killed at a village in South Kashmir's Kulgam district.

The operation began at 2 am after intelligence that 28-year-old Qasim, a resident of Bhawalpur in Pakistan, was holed up in a house at Khandipura village in Kulgam, along with an accomplice, official sources said.

The village is located 80 kilometres from here. A joint team of Army, police and para-military forces was rushed in and the village was cordoned off.

"It was a great achievement for the security forces," Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police K Rajendra said.

Qasim, who after spreading the tentacles of terror in North Kashmir, was trying to gain foothold in South Kashmir and had been operating out of Shopian and Kulgam jungles for sometime now.

His name also surfaced in terror attack on a BSF convoy at Udhampur in August this year in which two personnel of the force were killed. One terrorist was also shot dead in retaliatory fire while another Mohammed Naved, a Pakistani national, was captured by locals and handed over to the police.

Qasim is believed to be a resident of Bawalpur in Pakistan. The NIA had declared cash reward of Rs 10 lakhs for the arrest of Qasim.