The army has confirmed that top Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Abu Qasim was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir early Thursday morning.
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The wanted terrorist was the mastermind of Udhampur BSF convoy attack in which eight Army soldiers were killed in June 2013.
Pakistan last week committed to take “effective action” against LeT, which India also blames for an attack by suicide commandos on Mumbai in 2008 in which 166 people were killed. He was also on NIA radar and NIA had declared a reward of Rs 20 lakh on his head. “It is a major success as Qasim was directly or indirectly involved in all major LeT attacks in Kashmir over the past three years”, Inspector General of Police Kashmir S.J.M. Gillani told reporters. Qasim was a resident of Bahawalpur city in Pakistan, he stated.
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Reports added that when Qasim along with his two militants were about to enter a house, security forces fired at him killing him on the spot, however, encounter with his two of associates is on. On Wednesday afternoon, security forces and Qasim and other militants engaged in an encounter in the Bhutoo forest. While the search was going on, Abu Qasim along with his still untraceable associate, according to police, tried to break the cordon the flee from the spot. Gillani stated the killing of Qasim would dent the operational capabilities of LeT & injure coordination between numerous militant groups.
