Officer killed during Srinagar shootout with militants: Police

The militants affiliated to LeT are being tracked down, according to officials

A policeman was killed in a brief shootout with a group of militants, affiliated to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar on Tuesday.

The police said Senior Constable Amir Hussain Lone from Kupwara was injured “in a brief shootout at Soura area of Srinagar city”. “ He succumbed to his injuries in the hospital later,” the police said.

Inspector General of Police (IGP ), Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) of the J&K police was following the three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, travelling in a red colour vehicle, when they were engaged in a brief shoot-out.

“The trio was headed by one Basit, who had taken over LeT’s command after Mehran’s killing last year. Two others have also been identified. They are being tracked down,” IGP Kumar said.

Mehran, who was killed in November, last year was behind a spree of civilian killings, including Kashmir Pandits in Srinagar, according to the police.

In the past 24 hours, Kashmir saw three militancy related incidents. Two civilians were fired at and injured in Kashmir on Monday in two separate attacks.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Tuesday visited the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital in Srinagar and enquired about the conditions of two labourers injured in the recent militant attacks.