SRINAGAR: Three wanted terrorists of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) offshoot The Resistance Front (TRF), who were involved in the murder of a sarpanch, were eliminated in an encounter with security forces here, the police said on Wednesday.
The terrorists were killed during a search operation by a joint team of Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Rashtriya Rifles in Nowgam area of Srinagar city.
During the search operation, which was launched based on specific inputs generated by the police, the terrorists fired indiscriminately upon the search party, leading to an encounter. Later, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) also joined the security forces in the encounter.
Bodies of the three terrorists — identified as Adil Nabi Teli of Pampore’s Galchibal Chandhara, Shakir Ahmad Tantray of Shopian’s Ronipora, and Yasir Ahmad Wagay of Kulgam’s Kujer Frisal — were retrieved from the encounter site.
They were involved in the recent killing of Sarpanch Sameer Ahmad Bhat in Khanmoh area of Srinagar, the police said.
As per police records, the slain terrorists were affiliated with proscribed terror outfit LeT (TRF) and active since 2021. They were part of groups involved in several terror crimes including attacks on police and security forces and atrocities against civilians.
Speaking to media persons, Inspector General of Police (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said that all the three killed terrorists were involved in the killing of Sarpanch Sameer Ahmad Bhat. They were planning to carry out an attack on security forces, he said.
One of the terrorists, Adil Nabi Teli, was involved in the killing of Inspector Pervaiz Ahmad Dar in Nowgam in June last year and the murder of Javaid Ahmed Malik in Tral, the police officer informed. Teli was also involved in the grenade attack on a joint party of police and CRPF in which one civilian was killed and three others were injured at Barbarshah, Srinagar.