Killer of twin sisters among 2 militants killed in Sopore

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, May 27: Dreaded Pakistani militant of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Qari Anas Lashkari, who was allegedly involved in killing of two young women in Muslim Pir area of Sopore earlier this year, got killed today alongwith another militant of the organisation in an encounter at Nowpora in Sopore outskirts. Two more militants have died in a separate encounter with security forces in Kellar area of Shopian in South Kashmir.

SP Sopore Altaf Khan told Early Times that on a specific information available with Sopore Police in the forenoon today, troops of RR 22 Bn and Sopore Police launched a cordon-and-search operation at Tantray Mohalla of Nowpora. As troops and Police crashed a bunker into the identified hideout, two of the holed up militants opened fierce gunfire and attempted to escape. Even as the duo succeeded in coming out the hideout, troops directed heavy fire and killed both the militants in a brief encounter in the open fields.

SP Sopore said that with the help of the arms and documents recovered from the duo, followed by identification by a detained militants, militants killed in the operation were identified as Lala Umais and Qari Ans Lashkari. He said that both of them were Pakistani cadres of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba who had been operating in Sopore area for quite some time.

Qari Ans, according to SP Sopore, was involved in a number of attacks on Police, security forces and civilian targets, including the assassination of two young sisters at Muslim Pir interior of the apple township earlier this year. Late in the night on January 30^th this year, unidentified gunmen had kidnapped, Rehana and Kulsuma, 17 to 19 years old, daughters of Ghulam Nabi Dar and shot them dead at a distance. The twin killings had evoked widespread condemnation from all quarters. SP Sopore claimed that Qari Ans had played key role in the execution.

Meanwhile, reports from South Kashmir said that late last night troops and militants clashed in Kellar forest area of Shopian. Two unidentified militants got killed in the encounter.

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