J&K: Jaish commander among 2 militants killed in Shopian encounter

Two militants, including a top Jaish-e-Mohammed commander from Pakistan responsible for a car blast last month in which two Army jawans lost their lives, were killed on Saturday in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, police said.

Munna Lahori, the Jaish commander, was also responsible for a series of civilian killings in Kashmir, a police official said.

The second militant, an associate of Lahori, was a local, he said.

Lahori, also known as Bihari, had been used by the Jaish for the recruitment of militants in the Kashmir valley, the official said.

He was an expert in making improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Lahori was responsible for a car bomb attack on a security forces' convoy on March 30 at Banihal and "a fatal car blast on a Army vehicle at Arihal in Pulwama on June 17 in which two soldiers were killed and nine others, including two civilians, were injured," the official said.

He said the security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Banday Mohalla in Bonbazar area of Shopian on Friday night following a tip-off about the presence of militants there.

The search operation turned into an encounter after the militants opened fire, leading to their killing, he said, adding that incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were recovered from the site of the gunfight.