Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir killed a Laskhar-e-Taiba terrorist in the Kashmir Valley following a protracted gun battle which lasted over 12 hours that ended on Wednesday.
One police officer, identified as Bilal, also died during the exchange of fire.
The incident, which occurred in the Baramulla District of Jammu and Kashmir, had started on Tuesday evening and continued throughout the night. It involved a joint operation which brought together Jammu and Kashmir police, India's paramilitary as well as the Indian army.
The killed terrorist has been identified as Momin Gojri of Baramulla, who was affiliated with proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. He was involved in several terror crime cases, Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a statement.
Baramulla update: Encounter is over. One terrorist killed. Identity being ascertained. Arms and ammunition recovered. Our colleague SPO Billal attained martyrdom. SI Amardeep Parihar injured in the incident is being treated at Army Hospital.@JmuKmrPolice
— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) August 21, 2019
Meanwhile, Kashmir Police claimed that law and order in the Valley had otherwise remained peaceful and no untoward incident has been reported so far. Curfew restrictions were relaxed in 136 of the 197 police districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
The state administration is also scheduled to open middle schools in the Kashmir Valley, two days after primary schools opened their doors.
According to the United Nations, Lashkar-e-Taiba has "conducted numerous terrorist operations against military and civilian targets since 1993, including the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, which killed approximately 164 persons and injured hundreds more."
