Security forces early on Thursday gunned down a top commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba who had been active in the Rajouri district of Jammu region for the past eight years.

The police said the troops of Rashtriya Rifles and special operations group of the state police began a search operation late on Wednesday in the Thanamandi area of the border district of Rajouri in Jammu region.

During the search operation, an encounter took place in which security forces gunned down, Saifullah Qari, divisional commander of the Lashkar. "It is a major success in our operations against militants. The slain militant commander was involved in the Diwali-eve blasts in New Delhi. Qari was also responsible for masterminding and carrying out a number of suicide attacks across the state against security forces," Inspector General of Police Jammu Zone Dr S.P.Vaid said.

"Qari had been active in the Rajouri district of the state for the past ten years."

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Gopal Sharma had said recently that 1200 fully armed militants were still active in the state even though the number of violent incidents had come down.