Three Lashkar-e-Taiba militants, including Lateef Rather who was involved in the killing of Rahul Bhat and TV artist Amreen Bhat in May, were killed in an encounter with security forces in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Wednesday.
"#BudgamEncounterUpdate: All the three hiding LeT #terrorists #neutralised. Bodies being retrieved from the site, identication yet to be ascertained. #Incriminating materials, arms & ammunition recovered. A big success for us (sic),” Kashmir Zone Police tweeted.
Earlier the police had said three militants of LeT/TRF, including Lateef Rather, were trapped in Waterhail in Khansahib area of Budgam. Lateef, police said, was involved in several civilian killings, including that of Kashmiri Pandit government employee Rahul Bhat and Kashmiri actress Amreen Bhat.
The gunfight erupted during the wee hours of Wednesday after army and J&K police launched a cordon-and-search-operation (CASO) in the Waterhail area of the district following information about the presence of militants there, reports said. The hiding militants fired at the security forces, leading to a gunfight.
Rahul Bhat, who had got the job of a clerk under the special employment package for migrants in 2010-11, was gunned down by militants inside the Tehsil office in Chadoora town in Budgam on May 12.
Days later, TV artist Amreen Bhat was shot dead inside her house in Chadoora.
This year nearly 125 militants, including Pakistanis have been killed in different encounters with security forces across Kashmir. The police said that the majority of those killed so far this year belonged to LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad.
Over 40 militants who died this year so far were fresh recruits and were killed within the first three months of joining the militant ranks.