Top LeT commander gunned down in Kashmir

A top militant commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba outfit was gunned down by security forces in north Kashmir's Sopore town on Tuesday evening.

"Based on intelligence inputs regarding the presence of unidentified terrorists in Maminabad locality of Sopore town, a joint operation was launched by the troops of 22-Rashtriya Rifles and police," a defence spokesman said.

He said one army trooper was wounded when the lone holed up militant commander fired at the surrounding troops after being challenged to surrender.

The injured trooper was shifted to hospital for treatment. A senior police officer said, "A fierce gunfight ensued at the end of which top commander of the LeT -- identified as Abu Ukasha Badar -- was killed."

The house in which Badar was holed up was destroyed during the gunfight.

The officer said the slain militant was the senior-most LeT commander in the Valley.