Top LeT commander Basit Dar among 2 terrorists killed in encounter in J&K's Kulgam

The house in which the terrorists were hiding caught fire on Tuesday morning during the exchange of fire. (Representative image)

Two terrorists, including top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Basit Dar, were on May 7 killed in an encounter with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir police in Kulgam.

The security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Kulgam's Redwani village late on Monday night following information about the presence of terrorists in the area.

"Police and security forces, along with Army and CRPF had cordoned off the area ... Operation continued throughout the night and concluded today afternoon. Two terrorists were neutralized in this operation and their bodies have been retrieved," IGP Kashmir Vidhi Kumar Birdi said.

According to officials, the house in which the terrorists were hiding caught fire on Tuesday morning during the exchange of fire between the two sides.

The Kashmir IGP said that one of the terrorists belonged to The Resistance Front (TRF) 'A' category. "One of them Basit Dar belonged to TRF 'A' category, he was involved in more than 18 cases... He was involved in planning of conspiracy to attack minorities, police forces and civilians," Birdi added.

The terrorists, according to the official, were given ample time and opportunity to surrender. "They did not pay any heed to the caution by police and security forces. The terrorists continued firing upon the security personnel and were killed in the encounter," he said.

Birdi termed the operation a significant achievement as Dar was involved in the killing of police personnel as well as innocent civilians.