Islamic militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abu Dujana and another rebel died in a gunbattle in Pulwama district, which erupted early Tuesday after the insurgents hiding in a house opened fire on the security forces.
‘LeT chief commander Abu Dujana of Pakistan alongwith his accomplice killed in Harkipora (village), Pulwama. Huge achievement for police and security forces,’ the state police said in a tweet.
Dujana, 27, born in Pakistan, was on the police's most wanted list and had a 1.5-million-rupee (23,000-dollar) bounty on his head.
Media reports said Dujana was removed as a commander of the LeT in recent months after a rift in the militant organization.
Senior police officer Munir Khan said Dujana and his accomplice Arif Lilhari had a ‘notorious reputation’ and had carried out several attacks on Indian security force personnel and officials.
Dozens of protestors marched to the site and pelted the security force officers with stones after the operation. A youth was killed and five more were injured in the clashes, Khan said.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in Muslim-majority Kashmir, which has been gripped by a violent secessionist movement against New Delhi's rule since the 1980s.
More than 44,000 people have been killed in the violence in India-administered Kashmir. The other half of Kashmir is administered by Pakistan.
India claims Pakistan supports and encourages the rebels and separatist leaders, but Islamabad denies the charge and calls them freedom fighters.
