Militant killed, siege of mosque ends

SRINAGAR, OCT. 29. Security forces killed the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant holed up in a mosque in Badgam district in central Kashmir this morning, ending a 45-hour-long stand-off without any damage to the place of worship, an official spokesman said here.

After killing the militant hiding in a bathroom adjacent to the mosque with a grenade, troops conducted a thorough search to ensure that no other militant was present inside the religious place, he added.

Four BSF personnel and a Special Police Officer (SPO) were injured in the operation, the spokesman said. An AK assault rifle, four magazines and 27 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the slain militant.

Earlier reports that the militant belonged to the Hizb-ul- Mujahideen or the Jaish-e-Muhammad were proved wrong as the documents seized from the slain ultra indicated he was a member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the spokesman said.

The operation to clear the mosque started on Sunday evening when a joint party of the Special Operations Group and the BSF moved into the mosque.

The ultra resorted to heavy firing and lobbed grenades critically injuring an SPO and a BSF jawan. The operation was suspended late on Sunday night though the troops had taken position on the second floor of the mosque.

Suspecting that the militant was hiding in the minar, security forces today searched the area. However, when the forces moved towards the bathroom, the militant hurled a grenade at them injuring three BSF jawans. The troops retaliated and killed the militant.

- PTI

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