LeT commander and 26/11 mastermind Lakhvi's nephew Abu Musaib killed in north Kashmir

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir police have killed a top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant commander Abu Musaib, nephew of Mumbai attacks mastermind Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, in a gunfight on Thursday morning, in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.

The encounter took place in Hajin area, 32 km from Srinagar, when the Special Operations Group of J&K police, along with army personnel, cordoned off Khosa Mohalla, where Musaib along with two other militants, was present.

Police sources claim that two militants managed to flee from the spot although there is no official confirmation on this. Police have recovered an AK-56 rifle, three magazines, a radio set and three Chinese grenades from the encounter site. SOG personnel Vikas Sharma was critically injured in the encounter and is being treated at Army base hospital in Srinagar.

“When we cordoned off the area, militants opened fire, which triggered a gunfight and one militant was killed and a policeman injured,” said a police official.

Director general of J&K Police SP Vaid told reporters that preliminary information showed that Abu Musaib, who is in his early thirties, was the nephew of Lakhvi, but have not intercepted any communication about him as of now. Abu Musaib, police claim, was active since 2015.

“He was working to revive and strengthen LeT in north Kashmir after the killing of LeT commander Abdullah Uni in 2011and the arrest of another LeT commander Fahdullah in 2013. He was active for more than two years,” a police source said.