Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 22: A fierce gun battle is on in North Kashmir’s Sopore town between top Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander who is trapped in a house and security forces.
Police sources said that Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police, Sopore, 52 and 22-Rashtriya Rifles and Central Reserve Police Force cordoned off Krankshawan Colony of Sopore this evening after a tip off that three LeT men were hiding in the area. They had information about presence of LeT commander for Sopore area Muzza Molvi, his deputy Mehmood Bhai and another local militant in a house in Krankshawan Colony of Sopore.
Initially the troops evacuated the people who were trapped in the cordoned area where the militants were hiding. Troops also made announcements asking people not to venture inside the cordoned area.
Later in the evening at around 8 p.m., the hiding militants tried to break the cordon and fired indiscriminately on troops and troops retaliated leading to a gun battle.
Sources said that Mehmood Bai of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit is believed to be trapped in the area. However, they believed LeT’s top commander Muzza Molvi may have fled the area when the troops laid cordon.
The adjacent areas of Baghe Islam, Naseem Bagh and Baba Raza Colony were also cordoned off to prevent the militant commander from fleeing the cordoned area.
Mehmood Bhai who was earlier operating in Handwara and later shifted to Srinagar before moving to Sopore has fled from security forces around six times so far this year. Earlier, he fled from cordon twice in Ahmad Nagar area of Srinagar early this year, then twice from Sopore and once from Hajan area of Bandipora district.
Reports said that the intermittent firing was going on but the security forces have put operation on the hold and it will be resumed at first light tomorrow. However, they strengthened the cordon around the area to prevent the militant commander from fleeing.
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