Two LeT militants gunned down in encounter in Kishtwar

Two top militants of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) were today gunned down by security forces in a fierce gun-battle in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Acting on specific information about the presence of militants of LeT in Dool-Banzwar forest belt in Kishtwar district, troops of 17 Rastriya Rifles and Police launched a cordon and search operation in the area to track them down, a senior Police official said.

The militants fired on the security forces as they saw them closing in, he said adding that a fierce gun-battle broke in the area in which two LeT militants were killed.

From them they recovered, one AK rifle, one Pistol and 7 Magazines, he said adding that the deceased militants have been identified as Mohmmad Rafeeq and Shahnawaz Khandey code name Bilal of Kishtwar.

"The duo were recycled militants as they have first surrendered and then went back to join the ranks of the militants in LeT", the officer said.

Rafeeq, who was a dreaded militant since 2003, had killed a Police constable Javaid Bhat in 2005 and later surrendered and was sent to jail.

After their release from jail, he joined back ranks of militants in Kishtwar in LeT in January 2010 and later killed Special Police Officer (SPO) Haneef Ahmed in December last year.

Shahnawaz, who had joined militancy in 2005, was arrested in 2007 and later released in 2010. He later rejoined militancy in ranks of LeT last year.