2 Pak nationals among 3 militants killed in Kulgam encounter

Srinagar: Two Pakistani nationals, who were top commanders of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and wanted for a "series of terror crimes", were among the three militants killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, police said Monday.

The militants have been identified as Raqib Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Shiganpora in Kulgam, and Pakistani nationals Waleed and Numan, a police spokesman said.

On Sunday, a deputy superintendent of police, an army jawan and the three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militants were killed during the encounter in the district's Turigam area.

"The three terrorists killed have been identified as Raqib Ahmad Sheikh, a resident of Shiganpora in Kulgam, and incriminating material was recovered from the site of the encounter, the other two terrorists have been identified as Waleed and Numan, foreigners from Pakistan,” the spokesman said.

He said, according to police records, the three slain militants were affiliated to proscribed terror outfit JeM.

"The two killed Pakistani terrorists, Waleed and Numan, as per police records, were top commanders of proscribed terror outfit JeM and were active in the southern parts of the Kashmir Valley. "As per the police records, they were involved in conspiring and executing several terrorist attacks and were wanted by the law for their complicity in a series of terror crimes, including attacks on security establishments and civilian atrocities. Several terror crime cases were registered against them for their terrorist activities,” he said.

The spokesman said arms and ammunition, including rifles, were recovered from the encounter site. “These materials have been taken in the case records for further investigation and to probe their complicity in other terror cases,” he said.