(Image source from: Deccanchronicle.com)
LeT Chief Behind Amarnath Attack, Abu Ismail Killed In Kashmir:- The commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the main accused of Amarnath attack was killed in a brief gunbattle with security forces in Aarigam area of Nowgam on the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday, said the police. Along with Ismail, his associate Abu Kasim too was killed in the attack.
Two AK 47s were also recovered from the encounter site in Nowgam. Both Ismail and Kasim were from Pakistan, said Muneer Khan, IGP Kashmir. The IGP said that Abu Ismail was involved in 15 FIRs. The slain LeT commander Abu Ismail was wanted in a number of terror incidents including the July 10, 2017. Seven Amarnath pilgrims were killed including six women and injuring 19 others in southern Anantnag district in the tragic incident.
(Video Source: India TV)
Since 2000, it was the worst attack on the Amarnath yatra. On learning about the presence of the militants in Nowgam’s Aarigam area, the security forces launched an operation on Thursday afternoon, said the police. They further claimed that as they moved in a particular quarter of the village, the militants opened fire at them and that in the ensuing ‘brief gun battle’ Abu Ismail and his associate were killed.
Shesh Paul Vaid, Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police confirmed Abu Ismail’s killing. He tweeted:
“Main accused of Amarnath Yatra attack Abu Ismail & his associate Abu Kasim eliminated today in Nowgam. Keep it up my @JmuKmrPolice boys!”
Main accused of Amarnath Yatra attack Abu Ismail & his associate Abu Kasim eliminated today in Nowgam. Keep it up my @JmuKmrPolice boys!
— Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) September 14, 2017
His counterpart in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar said, “This is a huge achievement. The terrorist was responsible for the attack on Amarnath Yatra”. The CRPF along with the Jammu and Kashmir police’s counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG) and the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles were part of the operation.
Following the killing of the LeT commander, the mobile Internet services in Srinagar have been blocked as a precautionary measure” to prevent a law and order situation arising. Earlier, the police arrested two suspected over-ground workers of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen outfit in frontier Kupwara district. The duo was taken into custody from Kupwara’s Handwara area separately and the police claimed recovering a hand grenade from them. They have been identified as Waheed Ahmed Bhat who was arrested during routine checking at a makeshift checkpoint and Muhammad Shafi Mir from that in Qalamabad village.
SUPRAJA
