2 top LeT commanders killed in Shopian

Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Indian Army today claimed to have killed two of Lashkar-e-Toiba’s top commanders in South Kashmir in an encounter in Shopian.

Jammu and Kashmir Police and the Indian Army today claimed to have killed two of Lashkar-e-Toiba’s top commanders in South Kashmir in an encounter in Shopian.

“It is a big success. And we believe it will have a positive impact not only on South Kashmir but Srinagar as well,” said Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Range, Shiv Murari Sahai. “Atif (Lashkar’s South Kashmir chief) had picked them to trigger violence in Srinagar city”.

According to police, Malik and Saraia were killed in Shopian’s Wahil village today. “The two were wanted for more than a dozen cases including the killing of an engineer of IRCON railway project and an attack on a police vehicle when four policemen were killed earlier this year,” Senior Superintendent of Police, Pulwama, Nitesh Kumar said.

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Unlike Lashkar’s tradition of deputing foreign militants as top commanders, the two, Pinto Malik and Abu Saraia, were not only locals but had also undergone training here, said the police.

Mohammad Altaf Malik, alias Pinto Malik and Shiraz Ahmad Mir alias Abu Saraia were both from Litter village in Pulwama. According to police records, both of them joined LeT in 2004 as its sympathisers, acting as guides and couriers. Soon after, they were included in LeT ranks.

“Malik killed the IRCON engineer after abducting him, thus putting the entire railway project in Kashmir in jeopardy,” said SSP Nitesh Kumar said.

On September 7, 2006, when Malik was being produced before a court in Pulwama under tight security, a group of LeT militants attacked the premises, threw grenades and took him (Malik) out of custody, said SSP Kumar. Malik, said the police, then started reorganising Lashkar activities in South Kashmir along with Abu Saraia who had by then become Lashkar’s district commander.

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According to police records, the duo planned and executed an attack on a Sumo carrying Armymen which left a soldier and the driver dead. “Then they (Malik and Saraia) killed four policemen in an attack on a police vehicle on February 2 this year. Since then we were constantly looking for them,” said SSP Kumar.

The police said Malik and Saraia were vital to LeT’s campaign in Kashmir this summer for two reasons. Most of Lashkar’s activities, especially suicide attacks, were planned and executed by its top man in India, Salahudin alias Bilal alias Hyder from his Bandipore forest hideout in north Kashmir.

In fact, during the last three years, the police said, they tracked all fidayeen attacks in Srinagar city to Salahudin and his Bandipore bastion.

Police said recently when they found out that Lashkar had shifted base for Srinagar activities to Pulwama, the trail had led them to Malik and Saraia.