Pak terrorist killed near Hazratbal shrine

A Pakistani terrorist from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba was killed in a brief shootout in the Hazratbal area of Srinagar on Thursday while a search was underway for two other terrorists who managed to flee, the police said.

The trio tried to snatch weapons from the guard posted at the Hazratbal shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake.

Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar said one of the terrorists was a Pakistani and termed his killing a 'big success.'

"We were monitoring him. His aim was to attack the shrine guard and snatch his weapon. He fired at the police party, which retaliated. In the firing, the Pakistani terrorist was killed," Kumar told reporters outside the shrine complex.

The slain terrorist was identified as Manzoor alias Hyder alias Hamza. He was affiliated with the LeT, the IGP said.

"He was an associate of LeT/TRF commander Mehran. His killing is a big success," the IGP said.

Kumar said Hyder was active in Srinagar for the past six months and involved in several killings. A video in which he spoke about attacking senior officials had gone viral.

On the two terrorists who fled, the IGP said, "We are tracking them. We hope to neutralise them soon."

The terrorists, Kumar said, were trying to use religious places to take shelter and stir emotions to create a law and order issue.

"His (the Pakistani terrorist's) aim was to enter the mosque, engage with the security forces, stir religious sentiments of the people and create a law and order problem. But we will not let them to succeed in that," he said.

Asked about the recovery of the body of an Indian Army soldier in Budgam, the IGP said the police are investigating the incident from all angles.

"We are probing the terror-crime angle or maybe there was some fight because of personal animosity and he was murdered," Kumar said.

The soldier, Sameer Ahmad Malla, was found dead in an orchard in Budgam on Thursday, three days after he went missing. His body had no bullet marks but showed signs of blunt injuries, officials said.