In a big success, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday killed top Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist commander Yousuf Kantroo in an encounter in Baramulla. The Police have also recovered incriminating material including arms and ammunition from him.
The information was provided by IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar on Twitter. “Top LeT terrorist Commander Yousuf Kantroo killed in Baramulla encounter. He was involved in several killings of civilians and Security Forces personnel including the recent killing of an SPO and his brother, one soldier, and a civilian in Budgam district”, the tweet read.
Top LeT terrorist Commander Yousuf Kantroo killed in Baramulla encounter. He was involved in several killings of civilians & Security Forces personnel incl recent killing of an SPO & his brother, one soldier & a civilian in Budgam district: IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar pic.twitter.com/FF0E5Jo0FQ
— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2022
Based on specific inputs about the presence of militants in the Malwah area of Baramulla in north Kashmir, the security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation there. According to the Police, in the initial exchange of fire, 3 Indian soldiers have been injured. The Budgam Police and the Indian army is in an alert position as the operation is still underway.
#BaramullaEncounterUpdate: Exact location of #encounter is Malwah area. In the initial exchange of fire, 03 soldiers recieved minor injuries. #Operation in progress. Further details shall follow: IGP Kashmir@JmuKmrPolice https://t.co/312PgQYIJu
— Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) April 20, 2022
It is important to note that Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist commander Yousuf Kantroo was one of the top 10 terrorists that the Jammu and Kashmir Police had aimed to target. Of 10, seven were active and three were recruits. The names as released by the Jammu and Kashmir Police include Salim Parray, Yousuf Kantroo, Abbas Sheikh, Reyaz Shetergund, Farooq Nali, Zubair Wani, Ashraf Molvi, and new terrorists- Saqib Manzoor, Umer Mushtaq Khandey and Wakeel Shah.
According to the reports, the Police on October 18, 2021, had killed four of them- Abbas Sheikh, Umer Mushtaq Khandey, Saqib Manzoor, and Jaish commander Wakeel Shah. This is after the Indian Army suffered the highest casualty in the region in recent years. Nine Indian soldiers and 11 civilians had lost their lives in counter-terror operations that began on October 11, 2021.
Yousuf Kantroo who has been killed today was a resident of Budgam and was involved in several killings of civilians and Security Forces personnel in the Budgam district. He was also known by the name of Issah. He was among the few local terrorists holding a ‘responsible’ position within Lashkar in Jammu and Kashmir. He had been dubbed as the A++ category (most dangerous) terrorist.
